Sanitas sanitatum et omnia sanitas

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SANITAS SANITATUM

ET OMNIA

SANITAS.

8ANITAS SANITATUM

ET OMNIA

SANITAS.

BY

EICHAED METCALFE, F.S.S

** Fure airy pure water^ the inspection of unhealthy habitations, the
adulteration of food — these and many kindred matters may he legitimately
dealt with by the Legislature. The first consideration of a Minister should
be ths health of the people ** — ^Earl of Beaconsfield.

l^ol. I.

PUBLISHED BY THE CO-OPEKATIYE PRINTING COMPANY,
PLOUGH COURT, FETTER LANE, E.G.

1877.

/SI. 9^^ 57/.

PEEFACE.

<^y

During the last thirty years, social and sanitary science
has made great strides with considerable benefit to the
community at large.

Parliament has passed various enactments for enforcing -
the better sanitary condition of drains and houses, pro-
viding hospitals for epidemics, enlarging asylums and unions,
or, as Dr. Guy calls it, *^ Hotels for cadging casuals.*' Signal
efforts have been made to prevent the pollution of rivers
and the spread of contagious diseases.

An Act for the estabUshment of baths and washhouses
has been in existence thirty years, but not compulsory,
its adoption and operation resting with local authorities.
The want of greater bath and washhouse accommodation,
to promote personal cleanliness, has baffled efficient
action in Sanitary Beform, inasmuch as a considerable por-
tion of the population of large towns are compelled to live
in crowded districts, with very meagre house accommodation,
quite inadequate to admit of washing and drying clothes.

The author has had considerable experience in the man-
agement of parochial affairs, and has often been an eye
witness to the discomfort and inconveniences to which the poor
are subjected in washing and drying their clothing in the apart-
ment in which they live and sleep, and he knows that the evils
resulting from, the want of bath and washhouse accommoda-
tion are often far greater than the consequences of sanitary
defects whose removal the law peremptorily enjoins.

These circumstances have induced him to invite pubh'c

VI PKEFACB.

attention to this important question, and he hopes by showing
what has been done in providing baths and washhouses
from the rates, Government may be induced to make the
Bath Act compulsory.

The task of collating the statistical returns and infor-
mation has been very laborious and difficult to obtain from
the authorities, consequently any imperfections will, he
trusts, be overlooked.

The work wiU be comprised in two volumes. The first
contains an account of the baths and washhouses, suggesting
the addition of hot-air baths. A large number of letters are
appended, from statesmen, medical men, and other authorities
in support of the hot-air bath as a sanitary agent for the
working classes.

I have deemed it prudent to introduce chapters on Small-
pox and Dipsomania, these derangements occupying much
public attention just now, and having given some considera-
tion to these painful maladies, some observation might not
be out of place.

The second volume will treat on the rise and progress of
sanitary reform and the dwellings of the poor, with plans and
suggestions for purchasing houses for what is now paid in the
shape of rent in ten years, together with some remarks on
the use and abuses of our sanitary Acts.
• Every intelligent man has a duty of some kind to
discharge, and when it is done to the best of his abilities,
his mission is fulfilled, and it is always an inward satisfaction
to any person holding certain views upon questions which
affect the interest and comfort of his fellow men, when he
has faithfully placed them before his fellow creatures.

This is just the author*s ca e, and he will feel amply
compensated for his trouble if the publication of these
volumes is attended with any benefit to his fellow country-
men.

Grafenberg House, New Barnet, Herts,

March, 1877.

CONTENTS.

m

PA6KS

Freliminary Disflertation. — On the Functioiui of the Skin in

Belation to Life, Healthy and Disease ... ... ... i.-xx

CHAPTER I.

Bise and Progress of the Bath and Washhouse Movement in

England ... ... ... .•• ••« ••• i***

CHAPTEE n.

Baths and Washhouses erected on the Bates, under the pro-
visions of the Bath Act 9 and 10 Vic, Cap. 74, with a
complete financial return of their original cost and
working expenses since the date of opening each Establish-
ment (Metropolitan) ... ... ... ... ... 2347

CHAPTER ni.
Provincial Baths and Washhouses ... ... ... ... 48-100

CHAPTER IV.

He -introduction of the Turkish Bath, with Observations on the

Vapour Bath ... ... ... ... ... 101-12

CHAPTER V.
Hot-air versus WaUm Water Baths. . . ... ... ... 1 26-

VUl CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VI.

PA0S9

Economics of tlie Hot-air Bath, -with a plan of a Turkish Bath

and Warm Lavatories ... ... ... ... 151-170

CHAPTER VII.

On the Recipients of Medical Charities and the Value of the Hot-
air Bath as a Medicinal Agent for the Poor ... ... 171-200^

CHAPTER VIII.
Small-pox ... ... ... ... ... ... 201-234^

CHAPTER IX.

Dipsomania ... ... ... ... ... ... 235-272-

CHAPTER X.

Letters from Statesmen, Noblemen, Medical Men, Literary Men

of eminence, and others ... ... ... ... 27*

PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION.

On the Functions op the Skin in Relation to
Life, Health^ and Disease.

** A great part of Sanitaxy Science can be comprised in that one word
— cleanliness.'* Dr. Lton Playfaib.

IT may appear Aomewhat superfluous in the present
state of civilization 'to seek to impress the public
mind with the advantages of bathing. But while
admitting the improvements in cleanliness that have
taken place during the last twenty-five or thirty
years^ particularly amongst the middle classes^ it will
not be denied there is still room for further enlighten-
ment, especially when we consider that there exists a
large amount of absolutely forced uncleanliness amongst
the working classes, not oiriy in the metropolis^ but
in many of the towns and cities of the United
Kingdom.

Whatever obstacles there may be in the way of
improving the condition of the lower orders who form
an important part of the community^ and (assuredly
no permanent good can be effected without acting

IT.

upon their physical surroundings) we must admit that
there exists little real difficulty in supplying them with
adequate Baths and Washhouses, and even were the
diflSculties as formidable as they are insignificant they
ought not to be allowed to stand in the way of the
important end in view, viz., the physical and moral
elevation of the people.

Notwithstanding their social position, the great majority
of the artizan and labouring classes have their tastes
and distastes, their sympathies and antipathies, which
are guided by their natural instincts, just as much as
those occupying a higher social position; and it is
fortunate for them that it is so, or their moral and physical
condition would be even lower than it- is. Had their
education received earlier attention from the Legislature,
in all probability their social status would have been
improved long ago, and the terrible strife existing be-
tween Labour and Capital might have been mitigated
if not avoided. We look to the educated and intelligent
having time at their disposal, and on whom devolves the
discharge of public duties, to disseminate such knowledtye
amongst their fellows who occupy a less favoured position
in society, as will enable them to arrive at a sound judo*-
ment on any theory or principle, which affects their
interest and comfort.

In the 19th century it ought to be unnecessary to
introduce remarks on the skin, but the want of public
knowledge on the importance of keeping it clean in
order to maintain the bodily health, has urged me to do
so. I am sorry to say there are but few, even of the
educated public, who have that practical knowledge of the
physiological action of the skin, which is necessary to
an appreciation of the value of bathing, for the main-
tenance of a healthy con dition of the animal economy.

in.

The fkin is a delicate integumentj which envelops and
protects the wondierful and complex organism of our
physical frame^ and in an adult it had an extent equiva-
lent to about fifteen square feet^ or 2160 square inches.
Though to the eye it appears to be a single and some-
what simple tissue^ it really consists of three layers,
diflFering very materially in structure.

The internal layer is the cutis or skin proper, which is
plentifully supplied with blood-vessels, nerves, and absor-
bents, and is consequently very sensitive. The external
layer is the epidermis or cuticle, or the scarf-skin, as it i&
commonly called. It is a thin elastic, albuminous mem*
brane, and, being destitute of blood-vessels and nerves,
is comparatively devoid of sensibility. Between the skin
proper and the cuticle is the rete mucosum^ an indistinct
layer, unless, as in the negro, it becomes the seat of the
pigment from which his colour is obtained.

The surface of the skin is studded over with an amazing
number of minute pores, forming the mouths or openings
of the canals or ducts of the sudoriparous glands and
sebaceous follicles, situated in or below the skin. These
little glandular organs are continually secreting and
excreting, the one a watery, and the other an oily fluid,
which lubricate the surface and impart pliancy and
softness to the skin. The openings of the canals may be
readily seen, and their number estimated by a simple
microscope on the points of the fingers. By means of a
powerful lens, Erasmus Wilson was enabled to count the
number of pores in a square inch of bodily surface, and
hence to estimate, with a close approach to accuracy, the
total number of pores in the whole body of an average-
sized person. He found these to be not less than seven
millions, and as each pore represents a little tube a
quarter of an inch long, it follows that the length of

IV.

•excretory tubes in the skin is little short of twenty-eight
miles.

Now the greater portion of the blood flows through the
vascular network of the true skin ; and it is important
to bear in mind this extreme vascularity^ as we generally
find organs supplied with blood in proportion to their
importance in the animal economy.

The function of the skin is threefold — absorptive,
secretive, and excretive ; it is also the seat of the sense
of touch. The absorptive function of the skin is illus-
trated by the rapidity with which water is frequently
absorbed when the body, under certain conditions,
is entirely or partially immersed. Experimenters have
often found that if the body, after long fasting, or
exhaustion by severe or protracted labour, is plunged
into a warm bath and kept there for half an hour, a
marked increase of weight ensues. This function of the
skin is, perhaps, more clearly shown by the endermatic
method of administering medicines.

Medical men are well aware that many medicaments,
when applied to, and especially when rubbed into, the
skin, produce their known effects as rapidly and
completely as when introduced into the stomach or
directly into the blood.

As an excreting organ the skin is of great importance.
It is estimated that about one-fifth of the whole
cxcrementitious matter of our bodies is exuded through
the skin. Its primary office is to separate from the
blood the effete hydrogen in the form of its super-
abundant watery particles. It has, however, many
important secondary offices. The chief cutaneous
excretion — the perspiration — is of two kinds : sensible
perspiration, which is a fluid occasionally excreted,
as after severe exercise; and insensible perspiration,

V.

or transpiration, an invisible vapour vrhich is contiuually
being given off by the skin. The sweat, or sensible
perspiration, is essentially an aqueous fluid, but it
holds in solution a very great variety of substances.
Its taste is saltish, and its reaction acid. Chloride of
sodium (common salt) ; salts of ammonia ; the salts of
the organic acids; butyric, formic, acetic, lactic, and
carbonic acids; earthy, phosphates ; peroxide of iron;
pigmentary, fatty, and proteine matter, and nitrogen,
are always found in it.

Various estimates have been made of the quantity
of matter exhaled, in the form of perspiration, from
the surface of the skin of the adult human body in
twenty-four hours. These have ranged from 20 to 40
ounces, and, perhaps, 30 might safely be taken as a fair
average. Seguen found from experiments the amount
to be 15,840 grains, or about 33 ounces. According
to the carefully-conducted experiments of Anselmino,
the sweat contains, on an average, '088 per cent, of
solid matter, 100 grains of which gave 22*9 grains of
saline matter : these calculations give for the twenty-
four hours, 107*47 grains of organic matter^ and 81-92
grains of saline matter.

These are the principal substances thrown off by the
skin when in a healthy condition. In various diseased
conditions of the organism, however, the skin becomes
the medium of discharge from the body of poisonous
Fubstances, either producing or resulting from disease. .
For instance, carbonate of ammonia and uric acid have
been discovered in the perspiration in a variety of •
diseases, especially mental complaints. In such cases
the skin usually assumes, in addition to its own proper
offices, a compensatory function, in consequence of the
diminished activity of, and secretion from, internal*

VI.

organs. Excretion is an all-important depurating or
purifying process ; if the worn-out tissues of the body
are not duly removed from the blood and discharged
from the system^ they rapidly accumulate and act as the
deadliest poisons ; and the worst consequences to health
and life often result. There is no greater and more just
cause of alarm to the physician than the cessation or
suspension of customary discharges from the various
excretory glands and canals. Should the renal secretions
be suppressed, uroemic poisoning and death from the
accumulation of urea in the blood is the result. Should
the biliary function be suspended, bile accumulates in
the blood, and insensibility and death as inevitably
follow as in the former case.

Again, should respiration be interfered with, the effete
carbon is retained in the system, arterial blood becomes
venous, the brain is poisoned, and then the action of the
heart stops. But it often happens that a function is
temporarily suspended, the functional activity of an
organ diminished or arrested, while its duties are under-
taken by another organ until it has recovered tone and
energy. This increased activity, this augmentation of
duties, on the one hand, is imperatively necessary to
neutralize the lessened energy of the suspended function,
on the other ; otherwise the balance of the different
functions, on whose integrity health depends, would be
lost, and permahent disease, speedily terminating in
death, would result.

Now the skin often partially or wholly relieves the
lungs, kidneys, intestines, and other internal excreting
organs, of their important duties.

In disease of the kidneys, for instance, the skin some-
times eliminates in the form of carbonate of ammonia,
the urea which accumulates in the blood an^l would

VII.

otherwise act as a deadly poison. The functions of the
skin and the kidneys stand in so close a relationship,
that they often assume the place, to a great extent, of
each other^ so that when the skin is impaired, the kidneys
increase in activity^ and vice verm. It is in this way that
the balance necessary to life is maintained; but this
compensatory action is limited^ so that the one oro^an
cannot wholly, or permanently, or, indeed, for any length
©f time, supply the place of the other. The most casual
observer will have noticed that, in hot weather, when the
skin is active, the quantity of perspiratory matter thrown
from the system is increased, and the quantity of urine
passed is diminished, while in cold weather this is reversed.
It is a too common occurrence, when scarlatina is
treated without a proper attention to, and the regula-
tion of, the functions of the skin, as is the case with " old
physic," that a sequel sometimes extremely difBcult to
deal with supervenes, namely, dropsy. Scarlatina, being
an eruptive disease of the skin, obstructs the escape of
the perspiration, and causes the fluid to accumulate in
the system. The kidneys will for a time succeed in
relieving the patient. But if the skin is not speedily
restored to its normal action, dropsy is inevitable. In
case of disease of the renal functions the skin relieves the
kidneys of their duties, which is witnessed by the fact
that the fluid eliminated contains some of the sub-
stances common to . urine. A marked functional
sympathy also exists between the skin and the intes-
tines, which is best illustrated by the effects of unhealthy
or diseased state of the one upon the other ; hence the
tendency to diarrhoea from cold feet on the one hand,
and the connection between cutaneous eruptions and
intestinal irregularities on the other. These brief
illustrations might be almost indefinitely extended ;

Till.

but they are Bufficlent to show the important relation
existing between skin and the internal organs.

When the removal of effete watery matter from
the blood is stopped, the labour of elimination is added
to the ordinary duties of the internal organs. Were tins
vicarious action of but short duration, no permanent
mischief would probably accrue. But all the organs,
of the body are liable to become exhausted by over-
exertion, if long continued; and this exhaustion if not
remedied, will sow the seeds of, if not terminate in,
disease. If the functions of the skin are long suspended,
either partially or entirely, not only are the lungs likely
to become diseased, but almost all the internal viscera
will suffer sooner or later. That protean disorder
dyspepsia, intestinal ailments, lesions of the liver and
kidneys, primarily, and cutaneous diseases, secondarily
or sympathetically, are one and all, frequent results of
irregularities in the depurating action of the skin.

It is of the greatest importance that the integrity of
the skin should be preserved in order to resist cold, and
however paradoxical it may appear, it is also capable of
generating cold. The human body has a fixed tempera-
ture, beyond which it cannot be raised by external heat ;
when therefore the external heat exceeds that of the body,
this is compensated by increased perspiration which is
converted into invisible aqueous vapour, and is essen-
tually a cooling process. This is the reason why the
human body has been found capable of resisting artificial
temperatures greatly higher than boiling water ;* hence

* Erasmus Wilson, in his work on the skin, instances the fact that
Sir Charles Blagden supported a temperature of 260® for nearly ten
minutes. The furnace in which Sir Francis Ohantrv was in the habit of
drying his moulds was heated to a temperature of 350.®, and into this
his men occasionally entered without inconvenience. The oven used by
Chabert daring his exhibitions in London was heated to between 4008
and 6008.

IX.

in summer^ in tropical climates^ or artificial high tern-
peratures^ perspiration ought to be encouraged and
not checked.

Such, then, is the wonderful system of cutaneous
draigage which nature has provided to eliminate from
the body impurities that otherwise would not only
derange health but destroy life. The skin is also a
medium for the reception of impressions on the nerves,
its whole surface being one vast network of those
mysterious organs ; which explains the intimate relation-
ship and dependence existing between healthy skin
action and mental equilibrium.

From these considerations it must be patent to
everyone how supremely important it is that the skin
should be kept clean, in order to preserve its normal
action.

The human frame is admirably adapted by the laws of
its being for the realization of happiness, yet we find
daily it is an unfailing source of pain and discontent to
multitudes, a state antagonistic to the benign intentions
of our Creator, and the result of transgressing those
laws by virtue of which *^ we live and move and have our
being." Health essentially depends upon obeying certain
conditions which experience teaches us it is impossible
to violate, or even modify, without incurring suffering.
We may conclude also that according to the extent of our
transgres^^ions so will be the intensity of our sufferings.
Physically, we live under a stern mandate — Obey and
live I disobey and die ! Disease and consequent suffer-
ing everywhere presented to our view are but the reflex
of our own actions.

Our acquaintance with life and its conditions, even to-
day, is so imperfect that we can do little more than say
with the Psalmist, ** We are fearfully and wonderfully

z.

made ; " yet our knowledge is sufficient to guard ub
from blasphemously attributing the sufferings of mankind
to the will of God.

The sentence pronounced upon Adam : " In the sweat
of thy face shalt thou eat bread,"* misrepresented as a
curse, is but the assertion of a law which we can only
neglect or disregard under penalty of bringing upon
ourselves painful consequences. Did we but follow this
primaeval teaching, and live and work in the open air,
with our bodies so clothed as to allow the skin literally
^^ to breathe," a healthy balance of the functions would
be maintained, and disease would become, comparatively
speaking, rare. But our so-called civilization imposes
such restraints upon us^ obliges us to follow such un-
natural callings, and withal environs ua with surroundings
so opposed to health, that our existence must be taken as
the strongest possible evidence of the aboriginal strength
of the race. Upon no organ do the present unnatural
modes of living produce more certain effect than the
skin.

The man who follows an employment entailing great
physical exertion in the open air is rarely a diseased man.
His labour excites the skin, and what would otherwise
become poisonous and productive of disease is eliminated
from the system, Ajs an evidence of this — his shirt,
worn, as is the usual custom, for a week, smells
aboaiinably ; but if the man's shirt is dirtier than that
of his employer, who performs no physical labour, his
body is so much the cleaner — his health immeasurably
bet^ter, and, all other things being equal, his life will be
longer.

Cpwpcr, with, the fineness of observation which

* GenenU uL 19.

marks the true poet^ in directing attention to a man
healthfullj employed^ asks us to —

•" See him tweating over his bread

Before he eats: — *Ti8 the primal curse.

But softened into mercy : made the pledge

Of cheerful days, and nights without a groan ; *'

a condition to be envied above all others hj the
dyspeptic, who never enjoys an hour's ease, but whose
life is a burden ever increasing as it *^ drags its slow
length along."

With the evils incident to our civilization clinging
to us, and with no immediate prospect of their being
removed by a general return to a strict observance
of nature's laws^ it remains for us to do the best with
the materials at our command. The art of preserving
and restoring health by artificially inducing a natural
action of the skin, has, at various periods, received a
large amount of attention ; but of all the means that
have been resorted to, there are none which have
equalled in point of efficacy the application of water in the
various forms of bathing practised throughout the world.

As a custom, bathing is as old as humanity. In
fact, the desire to bathe for the purpose of refreshing
and strengthening the body is as ingrained in man
as almost any other animal instinct. The babe crows
with delight when put into the bath ; the youth takes
to the water like a young duck ; the adult bathes
his limbs after the toils of the day with the most
unfeigned pleasure. The savage or semi-civilized man
seeks the pellucid brook, the river, or the sea, as
instinctively as he provides for any other natural
want. ThuA, in a natural state of society^ sensatioui
in lieu of k&owledge, serves^ as a gnide to health.
When, however, in consequence of the increase of

XII.

population^ large and densely crowded cities have, by
inducing vitiated habits and artificial tastes^ perverted
the natural instincts, the invariable result has been
disease and physical deterioration, until knowledge has
taken the place of ignorance. Thus it arose, doubtless,
that amongst nearly all early peoples, the lawgivers,
seeing the inseparable connection of personal cleanliness
with health, and. perceiving also that the very circum-
stances which tended to augment the power and
prosperity of the state militated against the physical
well-being of the people, saw fit to make periodical
lustration a religious- observance. Be that, however,
as it may, certain it is that in nearly all ancient
nations we find the bath occupying a prominent place
amongst their other institutions, it being regarded not
only as a luxury, but as a means for the maintenance
of health and the prolongation of life.

Amongst no people was this so marked as with the
Greeks, who, above all others excelled in the art of
corporeal development. Physical culture (or gymnastic)
was their first and foremost branch of education, and,
as might be expected, the bath was one of the principal
means employed for attaining their end. We can
scarcely turn over the pages of any of the writers on
Greece without being struck with the importance
which was there attached to bathing. In Homer we
find frequent mention of it, both as a luxury and as
a method of refreshing the mind and strengthening
the body. When Ulysses and Diomed return from
their night expeditious

"They cleanse their hodies in the neighbouring main:
Then in the polish'd hath, refreshed from toil,
Their joints they stipple with dissolving oil."

Jliad, Book z.

XIII.

In the "Odyssey," we read of Ulysses bathing in Arie's
palace : —

"An ample vase reoeives the amoking ware;
And in the bath preparedi my limbs I lave:
Beviving sweets repair the mind's decay,
And take the painful sense of toil away.*'

We are told, also, that Vulcan, or, according to
another version, Minerva, discovered certain hot baths
to Hercules, that he might renew his strength after
undergoing severe exertion and fatigue. According to
Homer, the Phoedrians laid great stress upon the
importance to the health and happiness of man of
frequent changes of apparel, comfortable beds, and
hot baths. And it has been hinted by Lord Bacon,
that the tradition of Jason being restored to youth
by means of the medicated caldron of Medea, was, in
fact, an allegorical representation of the effects of the
warm bath in retarding the approach of old age.

What the bath was to the Greeks, it became also
to the Komans. Amongst the latter people it attained
proportions never reached before, nor since, in any
country; so that there is probably considerable truth
in Mr, Urquhart's observation, that "Rome was
indebted to her strigil* as well as her sword for the
conquest of the world." In later times, when their
habits in other respects were not such as to be conducive
to health, the bath served as an antidote to their
manner of life. By keeping the skin free and active,
they provided the means of relieving the system
from any evil consequences that might result from

* An instrument like a blunt knife, used by the Bomans to scrape
off the perspiration induced by the hot bath, much as ostlers scrape
the sweat from horses with an iron hook. Specimens may be seen in
the British Museum.

XIV.

the excesses in which thej indulged. Without
any great or exact knowledge of the physiology
of man, both the Eomans and the Greeks, as well
as other early nations, thoroughly understood the
philosophy and. appreciated the advantages of bathing.
By its regular and sedulous use they unquestionably
aided the development of the physical frame, secured it
against the ravages of disease, and so added to the
comfort and duration of life.

With the decay of ancient civilization the bath relapsed,
more or less, into disuetude ; consequently, during the
middle ages, dreadful plagues frequently occurred, and
decimated entire populations,* a result attributable, to

* I am content to state this fact broadly and in general tenn& Dr.
Lyon Playfair — no mean authority on the suhject — boldly asserted in his
famous Glasgow speech (October 6th, 1874), that, "J«* a thousand
years there teas not a man or woman jn Europe that ever took a bath. No
wonder that there came the wondrous epidemics of the middle ages,
which cut off one-fourth of the population of Europe — the spotted plague,
the black death, sweating sickness, and the terrible mental epidemics
which followed in their tvnm — the dancing mania, the mewing mania,
and the biting mania."

Any one who is curious in such conicoverdei wHI find this wholesale
charge of uncleanliness against mediaeval Europe met by a spirited reply
by a certain Father Bridgett, in the February number of last year's
Contemporary Ileview, under the title of " The Sanctity of Dirl." This
reverend gentleman denies the existence, as an histoiioal fact, of the
** dirty millennium " described by Dr. Playfair, and, secondly, defends
the Homan Catholic Church from the charge of having forbidden or
discouraged baths. He certainly succeeds in showing that Dr. Playfair
had been guilly of hyperbole, but he admits the substantial accuracy of
the indictment when he distinguishes between the ascetics and the
seculars, and remarks that the church commended the former for not
being too delicate and faetidious. With regard to " St. Thomas of Canter-
tmry," at the thought of whose underelotiiing Dr. Flay^stir shudders.
Father Bridgets -naively tells us that when those who lived with him
fennd at hia martyrdom that his body was covered with a hair shirt
which had remained long unchanged, they were " filled with 'admiration

XV.

a large extent, to the lack of that appreciation of the
advantages of the bath which had led the enlightened
nations we have mentioned to dedicate it to the divinities
of medicine^ strength^ and wisdom.

This neglect is the more wonderful when we consider
that immercsion in water was used for centuries in one of
the ordinances of Christianity. In modem times, consider-
able attention has been paid to the subject ; but, in the
care we bestow upon our bodies, we still fall far short of
both the Greeks and the Komans, which is all the more
surprising when we consider our extended acquaintance
with the bodily organism and its various and complicated
functions.

In the evidence given before the Sanitary Commission
for Inquiring into the State of Large Towns and Popu-
lous Districts, the appointment of which was the first
step in the way of sanitary improvement in this country,
great stress was laid on the necessity of personal and
domestic cleanliness. Dr. Southwood Smith, who was
one of the principal medical men examined^ thus ex-

at the circnmrtanoe/' No wonder ! The key-note haying been Btrack
by Dr. Lyon Flay&ir, at Glasgow, in October, we find the JEeMa news-
paper a month later (November 3rd, 1874), chiming in with the Pro-
fessor, in an article on the ** Management of Hospitals," from which I
quote the following : — ** The monks and hermits and nnns, who presented
to mankind in the dark ages the ideal of sanctity combined with dirty
have to answer for the hideous plagues and black deaths which destroyed
half the human race in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and for
immeasurable woes and sufferings ever since. When St. Parian solenmly
exhorted the eariy Christiana to decline, as unholy and abominable, tilie
heathen proposition of taking a bath, and SL Bemazd, of Clairvauz,
excited the frantic devotion of his followers, by displaying under his
robe his scraggy and filthy chest, the fanatics laid the foundation of
habits, the fertile parents of diseases destined to torment mankind for
centuries^ven after Protestantism had. once more taaght the nations to
respect the wondrous structure which composes the human oxganism."

XVI.

pressed himself: "I have already, more than once,
expressed my conviction that the humanizing ijifluence
of habits of cleanliness, and of those decent observances
which imply self-respect, the best, indeed the only real
foundation of respect for others, has never been sufficiently
acted upon. A clean, fresh, and well-ordered house
exercises over its inmates a moral, no less than a physical,
influence, and has a direct tendency to make the members
of a family sober, peaceful, and considerate of the
feelings and happiness of each other ; nor is it difficult
to trace a connection between habitual feelings of this
sort and the formation of habits of respect for property,
for the laws in general, and even for those higher duties
and obligations, the observance of which no laws can
enforce ; whereas, a filthy, squalid, unwholesome dwell-
ing, in which none of the decencies common to society,
even in the lowest stage of civilization, are, or can he,
observed, tends directly to make every dweller in such a
hovel regardless of the feelings and happiness of each
other, selfish, and sensual. And the connection is obvious
between the constant indulgences of appetites and
passions of this class, and the formation of habits of
idleness, dishonesty, debauchery, and violence.'*

The importance of cleanliness in this respect cannot be
too highly estimated ; nor is it giving expression to a
new or doubtful truth to say that physical and moral con-
ditions stand in an unvarying relation to each other, and
that to act upon the one you must act upon the other.
As I have said before, disease is not a visitation of God,
but the direct result of a violation of physical laws. The
natural conclusion, therefore, is, that to be free from
disease we must become enlightened with reference to
those laws, and render implicit obedience to them. Now
there is no one thing more emphatically impressed upon

^

XVIL

our minds by the facts of physiology than the necessity
of corporal cleanliness. Without this it is impossible to
enjoy perfect health. Among nearly all ancient peoples,
who had a knowledge of this great fact, ablution was a
religious duty. Our Western civilization, however, amidst
its many other anomalies, has until late years almost
ignored the bath. We English flatter ourselves we are
a clean people, but, judged by the Eastern standard, we
are exceedingly dirty. *^ Cleanliness is a matter of self-
examination, not of external seeming. You must acquire
the ideal standard of cleanliness before you can acquire
the habits of that refined people from whom you are
endeavouring to adopt this practice."

It is generally admitted that dirt, disease, and de-
moralization are natural and ever-recurrent concomitants,
therefore 1 maintain that the use of the bath would prove
to the body, what the moral influences of the Bible are
to the soul, and their combined action would be attended
with the greatest possible happiness ; degradation would
be materially arrested. In a city or neighbourhood
where there is a deficiency of baths and other means of
personal or domestic cleanliness, and consequently a
predominance of dirt and filth, you will be sure to find
disease and degradation there rampant.

**A large class of crimes," say the Commissioners
in their second report, " arising from intemperance
and the indulgence of vicious propensities, is fostered

* In the capital of the Roman Empire, according to Fahricuis, there
were not fewer than 856 public baths, some of which were sufficiently
large to contain at once 1800 persons. These establishments were regu-
lated by the Legislature. Here, according to the historian of the
'* Decline and Fall" ''the meanest Roman could purchase with a small
copper coin (half-farthing) the daily enjoyment of a scene of pomp and
luxury which might excite the envy of the Kings of Asia"

XVIII.

by the low state of physical comforts, which leads to
the use of stimulating drinks^ and to other methods
of imparting false strength to the reduced system.
These act with the greatest intensity on the inhabitants
of those places where filth and absence of facilities
for its removal depress the energies and engender disease
and death."

I have found that when an intelligent artizan has once
become acquainted with the advantages of any of the
appliances of civilization^ he is not slow to avail him-
self of their aid ; and habits of cleanliness^ once
formed, quickly effect a transformation in a man's
mode of living ; his sensibilities become improved
to such an extent that he will not live in a room
which is unhealthy, or in a hpuse that has bad drains^
&c. The first step towards making a people
healthy, is to make them cleanly in their person,
or to quote once more from Dr. Playfair, " The
sum and substance of all our sanitary science, accumulated
by ages, may be summed up in the pregnant advice
of the prophet — * wash and be clean.' It is the simple- ,
ness of a remedy, as a cure for the public ills which
so grievously affect us, that prevents its public
recognition."

Simple as it is, however, the remedy cannot be
applied unless adequate and comfortable baths and
washhouses are supplied within an easy distance and in con-
venient situations. The general habits of the poor, their
daily occupations, and the nature of their employments,
are such as render frequent bathing necessary to the
maintenance of health; and unless every possible
facility is afforded to this end, they are very liable to
become insensible to its importance. Any obstacles
in the way of personal or domestic cleanliness give

XIX.

rise to habits of carelessness and drunkenness^ which
rapidly lower both the moral and physical condition.

At present^ to the great mass of the poor the bath,
as a means of comfort, luxury and health, is hardly known
even in name, and to this ignorance is due the preva-
lence of Eo much disease. No sane person will dispute
the imperative necessity of keeping the cutaneous surface
in a perfectly clean condition, as a means of preserving
health. It will be my endeavour to point out the best
method of effecting this object, and to impress upon public
authorities the desirability of providing adequate and
appropriate means for promoting the cleanliness of the
people.

Cleanliness is said to be next to godliness ; but, like
other near neighbours, they are not always found to
agree. The Church Congress has been endeavouring to
prove that there is a necessary ne.vu8 between religion
and sanitary regulations, one clergyman, indeed, affirming
that ^^ health of body seemed almost a prerequisite to
health of soul," and that " religion and soundness of
body were united, as it were, by a marriage bond." Now
this is a beautiful theory, and we would rather overlook
historical and existing objections to it. People say, of
course, that if pilgrims had been as cleanly as they were
pious, there would have been less cholera in the world ;
and some folks, looking at the condition of our own cities,
bint that certain sections of the population there outrival
their neighbours in faith much more than in the purity of
their linen. Perhaps it would be better to admit that
cleanliness and godliness are very good things in their
own way, without seeking to prove their interdepend enee.

I cannot conclude this present chapter better than by
directing the attention of my readers to the forcible
language of that eminent thinker and writer, Professor

2 [Chap. I.

hand basin in the sleeping apartment, or some equally
inefficient appliance which ingenuity might have devised
for the purpose.

With such accommodation for corporal sanitary ablution,
one need not be surprised at the fact that the operation of
washing the body thirfcy or forty years ago had almost
become extinet. The dirt of the human body of course
corresponds with that of the dwelling, and the state in which
the homes of the poor were found in tliose days was even
far more deplorable than it is at present. Medical men,
clergymen, city missionaries, parochial officers, and all who
were led by professional duty or benevolence to enter the
dwellings of the very poor, the degraded, and the outcast,
however their opinions differed in other respects, were at
least unanimous in declaring that those dwellings exhibited
a degree of dirt and squalor with which health and morality
were alike incompatible. The official reports of surgeons
and registrars urged the absolute necessity of immediate
attention to the matter, in order to ward off or mitigate
the attacks of fever and pestilence. That the evil was not
confined to large centres of population was shown by the
sickening details published in the various local reports of
the Superintending Inspectors of the Board of Health,
and in the reports of the Kegistrar-General. J. B.
Martin, Esq., one of the commissioners appointed by
Her Majesty for inquiring into the *^ State of Large
Towns and Populous Districts in England and Wales,"
says : ** It may savour of caricature were it asserted
that, in respect to the labouring poor, it is only
when the infant enters upon breathing existence, and
when the man has ceased to breathe — at the moment
of birth and the hour of death — that he is really well
washed; yet such a statement would not be so far
removed from truth as may at first appear. To the

Chap. L] 3

great mass of the people, and from the dawn to the term
of life, the bath^ as an article of comfort, laxury, and
healthy is hardly known> even in name." To remove this
evil and others, many remedies were suggested, several of
which were carried into execution.

It is to the Corporation of Liverpool that the honour jf^th^^^^
belongs of having taken the first step in this branch of
sanitary reform. The first Public Baths and Washhouses
set on foot in this country were those of Liverpool, the
original cost being defrayed by money raised upon rates,
and that borough now possesses several of these bathing
establishments, including washhouses.

St. George's Pier Head baths were opened as long ago
as 1828, but only supplied with salt-water. This was the
first indication of a desire on the part of parochial authorities
to supply, and on the part of the public to use, a popular
means of ablution. The original cost of the building was
£24,772. No doubt it was partly owing to the appreci-
ation shown by the people that the same Corporation were
induced, some twenty-one years later, to erect another
bathing establishment in Frederick Street provided
with fresh water. This was in the year 1842, and
owes its origin chiefly to that friend of the poor, the
late William Hathbone, whose son is now one of the
members for the borough. It may be said that the Baths
and Washhouses Movement, so far as the provision of
warm baths are concerned, dates from the opening of
the establishment in Frederick Street, as in the former
place there were no baths for cleansing purposes.

In 1849 the Corporation of Liverpool again increased
their bathing and washing accomnrodation by the erection
of two new establishments — one in Paul Street and the
other in Cornwallis Street. The latter is undoubtedly the
finest of its kind in Ijiverpool. These were designed on a

4 [Chap. I.

much larger scale than those in Frederick Street and
contained all, the more modern improvements which
practical experience had suggested; in fact, so perfect
were they considered that, I believe, there have been
but few additional improvements in those of more recent
erection.

The success of the Baths and Washhouses Movement in
Liverpool first directed the attention of the Commissioners
for "Inquiring into the Sanitary Condition of Large
Towns and Populous Districts" to the advisability of
recommending in their second report ** that every facility
should be afforded to furnish ample supplies of water, and
Baths and Washhouses for the poorer classes," in which
report (published in 1845) they state that public attention
had of late been very generally attracted to the importance
of this subject, and that the success of the baths and
laundries erected at Liverpool had stimulated private
individuals in other towns to pursue a similar course.
Glas^- Li September, 1844, the Lord Mayor presided at a
Y^ meeting at the Mansion House convened for the formation
public of an "Association for Promoting Cleanliness among the
People." As the result of this meeting, one of the first
public Baths and Washhouses in London was established
in a large building in Glasshouse Yard, in the midst of a
dense and poor population near the London Docks, and it
was not a little surprising and gratifying to the promoters
of the movement to find that the advantages ofiered were
so thoroughly appreciated by the working classes.

It will be seen from the following statement of one year's
business, ending June, 1847, that the number of bathers,
washers and ironers, amounted to 84,584. The articles
washed and dried numbered nearly a quarter of a million.
There were, in round numbers, 35,000 bathers, 38,000
washers and dryers of clothes, and 11,000 ironers. The

Chap. LJ 6

bathers and washers cost the Association about one penny
each,' and the ironers about one farthing each ; the whole
year's expenditure by the Association l>eing over and
above the receipts about £300^ which included the
items of fuel, soap, soda and whitewash, with pails, .
brushes, &c., which were lent to the people for use in
their own homes.

The effect of the unexpected success of their benevolent Goulaten
scheme was evidently to over-stimulate the hopes of its Batha.
promoters, who were induced to build a large model
establishment in Goulston Square, Whitechapel, near to
Glasshouse Yard. The great success of their first
attempt, coupled with that of the Liverpool Baths,
naturally led them to believe that they would meet
with still greater success had they at their command
a more imposing and commodious establishment like
the one then just opened in Comwallis Street, Liver-
pool; they accordingly erected a model institutiofv
hoping that it might have the effect of stimulating philan-
thropy in the south of England to carry the work on more
victoriously. These baths were built by voluntary con-
ti'ibutions. The first stone was laid by the late Prince
Consort, and they were opened in the year 1851 or 1852.
They occupied an area (exclusive of washhouses) of 63 by
40 feet, 01- 2520 square feet. The idea of adding a
swimming bath was not carried out, although a piece of
the adjoining land was allotted for that purpose. There
were 95 private baths, viz., 47 first-class men's, 30
second-class men's ; 6 first-class women's, 5 second-class
women's, and 84 washing compartments. The Glasshouse
Yard Baths were merely several large rooms fitted up
with the simplest possible arrangements, and consequently
worked at a comparatively small cost. No doubt, how-
ever, the novelty of cheapbaths had something to do

8 [Chap. L

with tbeir first two years' success, and when this had
somewhat wore off, as a natural consequence, there was
a proportionate' falling off in the receipts. The business
was transferred from Glasshouse Yard to the Goulston
Square Baths, yet notwithstanding this they were worked
at a considerable 1(»9S for a number of years. They
gradually fell into a dilapidated condition, and were
eventually closed. The Vestry of Whitechapel at last
purchased the establishment, and in so doing discharged
a duty which they should have undertaken twenty years
ago.

On the 11th of December last I sent a gentleman to
make inquiries respecting these baths, and he reports
that they present the most dilapidated condition, being
surrounded with hoarding, and all the windows demolished.
He inquired of a poor woman, living directly opposite,
how long the baths had been closed ? She replied, " Some
years, worse lucky I wish they would open. them for I have
no place to wash and dry my children's, clothes.'' No
doubt the same reply would be made by thousands who
reside in the immediate neighbourhood. On inquiring
at the Vestry Offices, Great Prescott Street, he was
informed that it would be at least two years before the
baths would be opened to the public. This is another
instance of the tardiness of the Vestrymen of Whitchapel
in supplying their poor with an essential sanitary agent.

It ought to be unnecessary to remark, but I feel it is
my duty to emphasize the obvious fact, that, wherever
personal cleanliness is impossible, physical, mental and
moral deterioration of the people is inevitable. We may
have sad but unmistakable evidence of this, if any were
needed, in a tour through the slums of the East End.
While there may be parishes within the metropolitan area
where the demand for baths and washhouses is. less

Chap. I.] 7

urgent, tlicy are absolutely indispensable to sanitary
efficiency in such a poor and densely populated parish as
Whitechapel.

It is indeed surprising that, when the Qoulston Square
Baths were rapidly deteriorating, the parochial authorities
did not then come forward and volunteer their aasiBtance
which would have come with a better grace than their
tardy acceptance of a duty forced upon them by strong
ezpreBsions of public opinion. One would have supposed
it to be quite impossible for sanitary authoritieB to delay
the construction of Public Baths and Washhouses until
delay was no longer open to them. That such, however,
was the fact, will be gathered from the following extract
from the Vail^ Newt, of August; 1873 :—

with mighty ielal. It was tlia original model, and the first erected of Qq^j^q
London's PabUc Baths and WasbhonaeB, and we were highly pleased gquare
with onraelvea because of the iutraduction of thia new lever for human- Bath*.
izing the East end, and fir increasing the general healthineu of London.
Leading articles were written about the place, its purposes, and their
advantages ; these themes were the bnrdens of sermons, in which, no
doubt, occurred with grest frequency the aphorism, that " cleanlineBS is
next to godliness." It is juet twenty years ago that its foundation stona
was laid ; laid, not by an obscure vestryman or unknown churchwarden,
hut by the dcw dead Friocs who was the consort of our gracions Qaeen.
On the platform in the shabby square there stood round the Fiioce Con-
sort, as he laid the stone and wished the enterprise Ood-speed, such men
as the then Bishop of London, Lord Shaftesbury, the late Lord Over-
etona, and Sir Anthony BoQucluld. On the committee there was a list
of the beat-known public men of the day, and among the subscribers
were the Queen and her husband. Uen will tell you that we have
advanced many stagrea since then. Two streets off tttere rises a gi
pile of building which, under the auspices of the London School Boi
is to be devoted to educational purposes. 'Which takes precedence in
road to civilization — education or cleanliness F Look round such a net
bouchood as this, and the problem will smite you shrewdly, whet
education bestowed on a being doomed to live amid niGli tnoronnding
not rathw a cuna than a blessing.

8 rCHAP. L

It seems to the writer that, to the impartial sense of a critical foreigner
the present condition of Goulston Square Baths and Washhonses would
go £Eir to prove that we have retrograded since 1852, alike in enlighten-
ment, in a realization of the value of sanitary reform, in common sense,
and in zeal for the moral and social amelioration of our population.

If the stigma galls, it is not difficult to wipe it out ; and there aro
others whom the abatement of temptation to a dirt-fed epidemic will
touch nearer the quick. The establishment cost £16,000 to erect, part of
which money was borrowed. The place having been shut up through
neglect and mismanagement, the dilapidated carcase is now in pawn, so
to speak, for this borrowed money. To extinguish the debt £2500 is
required. For £3000 more, as estimated by professional gentlemen of
eminence, the establishment can be restored to perfect repsdr, and swim-
ming baths added. The debt once wiped out, the place rehabilitated,
there is no fear that its present fate will again befal it, for the Vestry of
Whitechapel are prepared to undertake its future management and main-
tenance. Already £2000 have been subscribed, and it seems hardly con-
~ ceivable that such a work should stard over indefinitely for lack of £3500
more. We have pleasure in adding that subscriptions may be paid into
the Temple Bar branch of the London and Westminster Bank to Baths
and Washhouses Account.

H. M. ^ This laudable attempt to obtain subscriptions from the
Letter to P'lblic was not fully realized, although the responses were
The Times, exceedingly creditable. Mr. H. M. CliflFord, in a letter
which appeared in the Times recently, states that : —

The Ck)mmittee for re-opening the Baths and Washhouses in Goulston
Square, Whitechapel, have the gratification of annouiiciDg that the
premises were duly conveyed to the Vestry of Whitechapel on the 4th
inst., together with the sum of ;£1600 towards the necessary repairs, as
agreed. The Vestry will now at once proceed to render the Baths and
Washhouses fit for use, which will be re-opened with as littie delay as
possible, to the great satisfaction and benefit of the large and poor popu-
lation of the district. The whole amount raised was £4671 12s. 6d.,
inclading a very gratifying collection of over £100, raised by a committee
formed among the Jewish working classes of the neighbourhood. Having
now come to the end of their labours, the Committee beg to tender to the
vaiious contributors their best thanks for their liberality, without which
the beneficial purpose the Committee had in view could never have been
effected.

In August; 1846^ another bathing establishment was

Chap. I.J 9

thrown open to the public bj a private association, in Geoige
George Street, Euston Square, in St. Pancras parish. E^gton
The principal mover in this scheme was Sir 0. Scudamore, §g^'®
who contributed largelj to the cost. The ground upon
which the baths were built belonged' to the New River
Company, and adjoined one of their reservoirs. The
undertaking was greatly aided by the liberality of this
company, the water for the baths being supplied
gratuitously.

This establishment, founded upon benevolent principles,
was open for two or three years, and was closed in conse«
quence of the New River Company abolishing their
resei*voir. The success of the undertaking is testified to
by Mr. Erasmus Wilson, who in his work on a " Healthy
Skin" (1849), quotes from a report of the working of
this establishment, from the day of its opening (August 3,
1846) to November 12, 1848, showing that the number
of visitors who have enjoyed its benefits, that is to say,
have obtained the incalculable blessing of clean skins or
clean linen, to which may be added also another feature
of the institution, clean and wholesome dwellings,
amounted to no less than 674,866. Of this surprising
number 284,994 were bathers, and 96,468 washers,
while a separate report from the department for " Cleans-
ing, Purifying, and Disinfecting the Dwellings of the
Poor," showed that during those last ten months upwards
of one thousand purifications had been effected.

Tlie ground where the reservoir was is at present
known as Tolmers Square, and the site of the baths is
now occupied by the Rev. Arthur Hall's chapel, in the
centre of the square.

In the year 1 835, Mr. James Silk Buckingham, a dis- J. Silk
tinguished pioneer of many moral, social and political j^^'g g^i^
reforms— whose numerous works upon the questions

10 [Chap. I.

affectiDg the interests of linmanity are too much neglected
by the present generation — foreseeing the necessity for
some legislative enactment enabh'ng local authorities to
provide baths and other social and sanitary institutions,
introduced into the House of Commpns a Bill of a very
comprehensive character to effect these purposes ; but he
failed to carry his proposed measure, owing, as he states,
to the persistent opposition of a distinguished Whig
statesman.

Mr. Buckingham had travelled extensively in Eastern
countries, indeed, no other man of his time was so well
acquainted with the manners^ customs, and habits of the
Orientals. His mind being essentially cosmopolitan, we
find him prepared to learn even of those whom we still
• regard as being uncivilized, but the ample facilities afforded
for bathing in these countries, and the general use and
appreciation of them by the inhabitants, must have
impressed him with the value of bathing for promoting
health and preventing those diseases which are so prevalent
in this country, and led him to make the attempt to supply
his own countrymen with such a desirable sanitary
agency.

A few years after, public opinion had considerably

advanced upon the question, and the friends of the

movement became more and more impressed with

the belief that if any permanent and extensive good

was to be effected it must be the result of legislative

enactment. Hence arose the question, how could such

an object be made part jof a general and legalized

system ?

Bishop of One of the circumstances that tended to bring the

Petition to Subject again under the notice of the Legislature was the

^°J™ ^^ presentation of five petitions by the Bishop of London to

the House of Lords on the 8th June, 1846. These

Chap* I] 11

petitions, praying that the Legislature would adopt some
means to increase the facilities for cleanliness available for
the mass of the people, were signed hj manj of the
parochial clergy of the metropolis, by statesmen, by
bankers and merchants, and many other persons of
influence. His lordship, after alluding to the importance
of personal purity, not only as a physical, but as a moral
agency, referred to the efibrts which had, up to that time,
been made towards the establishment of Baths and
Washhouses for the poor.

On the 19th of the same month. Sir G. Grey obtained Sir O.
permission to introduce a Bill for promoting the voluntary Bill;
establishment in boroughs and parishes in England and
Wales of Public Baths and Washhouses. The obiect was
to enable parishes desirous of having an institution of
this kind to defray the cost of the building out of the
poor rates, and for this purpose to borrow money, which
was to be repayable over a given number of years. The
Bill passed through the House of Commons by the end of
July, and on the second reading in the House of Lords,
he Marquis of Lansdowne called attention to the fact
hat such establishments as those to which the Bill had
reference need not be unprofitable even in a pecuniary
sense, in Liverpool they paid 3^ per cent, on the
capital expended. " All therefore," said he, " that was
meant by the present Bill was to give a stimulus
to private enterprise; not to crush enterprise where
it had already taken place; not to extinguish those
establishments which were now wording beneficially for
the advantage of the public."

The Bill received the Royal assent on the 26th of Passing of
August, 1846. By this Act (9 and 10 Vic, c. 74) the Act.^**^
council of any borough are empowered to adopt its pro-
visions if they are so disposed, and to defray the expenses

12 • [Chap. L

out of the borough fund. In parishes, on the requisition
of ten or more ratepayers, a vestry meeting must be called
at which the adoption of Baths and Washhouses may be
determined on ; and if this resolution is carried, informa-
tion thereof is to be sent to the Secretary of State, and a
commission of ratepayers is to be chosen to carry it into
effect. The commissioners account to the Vestry for their
proceedings, and the expenses are defrayed out of the/
poor rate. Two or more parishes may unite in their
operations, if desirable.
S^S^ Act Although the Act is put into operation by the Vestry,
and the commissioners have to go to the Vestry for power
to borrow money, yet when once this power is conceded
the Vestry have no control whatever over either the ex-
penditure of the money or the actions of the commis-
sioners.

The council (in a borough) or the commissioners (in a
parish) are to regulate, not only the construction, but the
management of these institutions.
mwiTof ^'^^® Act, like many other measures hurriedly passed
the Act. into law, was found to be defective when put into operation,
and consequently it was referred back to Parliament for
amendment.* In the following session Sir George Grey
introduced a Bill to amend the Act, and obtained larger
powers.

In the first Act the maximum charge for a bath
was 4d., but in the second this was increased to
6d. It is obvious that this alteration met the require-
ments of a large class of persons above the status of
labourers, who were glad to avail themselves of the
more select class of baths secured by the extra pay-
ments. These have been much resorted to, and have

* The amendment was constraed into the original Act.

Chap. L] 13

contribnted a large item towards making the baths
remmierative.

'Bie framers of the Act evidently endeavoured to guard
against the possibility of these institutions becoming rather
commercial speculations than sanifcary agencies, by enact-
ing that two-thirds of the bath accommodation provided
in every establishment should be apportioned to the third-
class bathers.

In the Act 9 & 10 Vic., chap. 74, the charges are
restricted, but it is remarkable that Baths erected under
Towns Improvement Acts, although no doubt compelled
to comply with the Bath and Washhouse Act, so far as
the provisions for the poorer classes is concerned, yet
there is no restriction against the managers charging
what they please for the higher class baths ; for instance,
the Liverpool Corporation's Baths were built under the
powers conferred by a local Act of their own, and they
charge as high as 2s. 6d. for some baths, and may if they
choose charge £1, whereas by the Act 9 & 10 Vic, chap.
74, they are restricted in their charges for the first-class
baths, a fact that must hitherto have escaped the notice of
the Legislature, or it would certainly have imposed the same
restrictions in all cases. We have the right to assume
that in legislative enactments one of the objects of the
Government is to guard against any tendency to interfere
with the commercial bearings of the subject dealt with,
and consequently they insert certain adequate clauses.
But if these restrictions are removed, a very different
construction might be put upon the Act; and when the
mental calibre of the men who almost invariably have the ^, «,.
working of these Acts is taken into account — men like and £e/io
those whom the Times recently characterized (speaking of Boardsof
Local Boards of Health) as "petty .tradesmen, who ^ea^^*
cannot be expected to take wide views of their responsi-

U [Chap- L

bilitieSy or to have any higher aim than to effect a present
saving of money," and the Eclio says, ^* The average town
councillor, or member of the Local Board, is a person whom
it is very diflScult to teach the way he should go in sanitary
matters. The average ratepayer does not care greatly
how much the death-rate may go up, provided the other
rates, which have to be paid in coin, are low. We wish
we could convince minds of this type that disease and
death are exceedingly cosily." It is not difficult to arrive
at the conclusion that the end they have in view in the
administration of these Acts, is not so much efficiency as
profit, and that they consider not so much whether a thing
is really needed, as whether it is possible to get on without
it, and so avoid the expenditure of money.

It will be seen in reference to the statistical and
financial information in the following chapter, to what
extent the Act 9 & 10 Vic, chap. 74, has been exercised.
The majority of the Baths in the provinces having been
built under their Local Towns Improvement Acts, which
include clauses for that purpose, and in many instances
they have borrowed money for the improvement made
from the Works Loan Commissioners.

eanc^foncd '^^'^ ^^^^^ ^^ .charges prescribed by the Amended Act

by the 10 & 11 Vic, chap. 61, is as follows*: —

Act.

1.— BATHS FOB THE LABOUEINa CLASSES.

Every bath to be supplied with dean water for every person bathing
alone, or for several children bathing together, and in either case with
one clean towel for every bather.

For one person above eight years old :—

Cold Bath, or cold shower bath, any sum not

exceeding >•• One Penny

Warm Bath, or warm shower bath, or vapour

bath, any £um not exceeding Twopence

Chap. L] 16

For seyeral chfldreiiy not above oight yean old, nor

exceeding four, bathing together : —
Cold Bath, or cold shower bath, any sum not

exceeding ••• ... ••• ... ... ••• Tifopenoe

Waxm Bath, or warm shower bath, or vapour

bath, any Bum not exceeding Fouxpence

2.— BATHS OF ANY HIQHEB CLASS.

Such charges as the council and the commissioners respectively think
fit, not exceeding in any case three times the charges above-mentioned
for the several kinds of baths for the labouring classes.

3.— WASHHOTJSES FOR THE LABOUBING CLASSES.

Every washhouse to be supplied with convenience for washing and
drying clothes and other articles.

For the use by one person of one washing tub or trough, and of a
copper or boiler (if any), or, where one of the washing tubs or
troughs shall be used as a copper or boiler, for the use of one
pair of washing tubs, or troughs, and for the use of the con-
veniences for drying : —
For one hour only in any one day, any sum not

^coeeding One Penny

For two hours together in any one day, any sum

not exceeding ... ... ... ... ... Threepence

Any time over the hour, or two hours respectively, if not exceeding
five minutes, not to be reckoned.

For two hours not tog^ether, or for more than two hours in anyone
day, such charges as the council and the commissioners respectively think

St.

For the use of the washing- conveniences alone, or of the drying con-
veniences alone, such charges as the council and the commissioners
respectively think fit, but not exceeding in either case the charges for the
use for the same time of both the washing and the drying conveniences.

4.— WASHHOUSES OP ANY HIGHER CLASS.
S'ich charges as the council and the commissioners respectively think fit.

6.— OPEN BATHING PLAGES.

"Where several persons bathe in the same water, for one person, One
Halfpenny.

By this time public attention had been directed to J^g^j^,^
the efficacy of the Yapour and Bussian Baths in the Baths.

16

[Chap. L

treatment of disease; but from the expense of these
baths they were beyond the means of the poorer classes
to whom they were quite as indispensable as to their
richer brethren. It is creditable to Sir G. Grey and
his coadjutors that he brought this bath within the
reach of the most humble classes, by making provision
in the second Act for its use in baths and washhouses,
and making the minimum charge 4d. and the maximum 6d.
Li concluding what I have to say on this subject, let
me observe that whilst the baths and washhouses move-
ment originated in the domain of philanthropy, legislation
removed it into a wider and more permanent sphere, by
enabling (I wish I could say compelling) parochial
authorities, where necessary, to erect such establishments
at the cost of the ratepayers. The Act of 1846 has now
been in operation thirty ^years ; and while it is gratify-
ing to know that some ten of the eighty -seven metro-
politan parishes have availed themselves of its powers ; yet
on the other hand it is to be deplored that its provisions
have not been more generally adopted.
Late The late Canon Kingsley, in an able article on a pure

Kingsley water supply, which appeared in Good Wordsy March,
want of ^8^^> ^^ discoursing on the benefit of towns having a
Baths. constant supply of water provided by civic authorities,
thus wisely speaks on the necessity of baths :—

" In cacli district of each city, and the centre of each town, we may
build public baths and layatories, where the poor men and women m'ay get
their warm baths when they will ; for now they usually never bathe at all,
because they will not, and ought not, if they be hard-worked folk, to bathe
in cold water during nine months of the year. And there they shall wash
their clothes, and dry them by steam, instead of washing them as now,
at home, either under back sheds, where they catch cold and rheumatism,
or too often, alas! in their own living rooms, in an atmosphere of foul
Bteam, which drives the father to the public-house and the children into
the streets ; and which not only prevents the clothes from being thor-

Chap. L] 17

enghly dried again, bat is, my dear boy, as you will know when yon are
older, a very hot-bed of disease. And they shall have other comforts^
and even luxuries ^these pnblic layatories ; and be made in time graceful
and refining, as well as merely useful. Kay» we wiU even, I think, hare
in. front of each of them a real fountain ; not like the drinking fountains
though they are great and needful boons, which you see here and there
about the streets with a tiny dribble of water to a great deal of expensive
stone ; but real fountains, which shall leap, and sparkle, and plash; and
gurgle, and fill the place with life, and light, and coolness, and sing in
the people's cars the sweetest of all earthly songs — save the song of a
mother over her child — the song of * The Laughing Water.' "

" But will not that be a- waste ? "

'' Tes, my boy. And for that very reason, I think we, the peoplOi
will have our fountain ; if it be but to make our governments, and cor-
. porations, and all public bodies and officers, remember that they all^save
her Majesty the Queen — are our servants, and not we theirs ; and that
we choose to have water, not only to wash with, but to play with, if we
like. And I believe — for the world, as you will find, is full not only of
just but of generous souls— that if the water supply were set really right,
there would be found in many a city -many a generous man who, over
and above his compulsory water rate, would give his poor fellow-towns-
'men. such a real fountain as those which ennoble the great square at
Oarcasonne and the great square at Nismes, to be ' a thing of beauty,
4md a joy for ever.*

" And now, if you want to go back to your Latin and Qreek, you
shall translate for me into Latin — I do not expect you to do it into
Oreek, though it would turn very well into Greek, for the Greeks knew
all about the matter long before the Bomans — what follows here ; and
you shall verify the facts and the names, &c., in it from your dictionaries
of antiquity and biography, that you may remember all the better what \

it says. And by that time, I think, you will have learnt something more K*
nseful to yourself, and, I hope, to your country hereafter,- than if you }
had learnt to patch together the neatest Greek and Latin verses which
have appeared since the days of Mr. Canning.

** I have often amused myself by fancying one question which an old
Homan emperor would ask, were he to rise from his grave and visit the
sights of London under the guidance of some minister of state. The
August shade would, doubtless, admire our railroads and bridges, our
cathedrals and our public parks, and much more of which we need not be
ashamed. But after awhile, I think, he would look round, whether in
London or in most of our great cities, inquiringly and in vain, for one
class of buildings, which in his empire were wont to be almost as con-
spicuous and as splendid, because, in public opinion, almost as necessary

18 [CnAP. L

as the basilicas and temples ; 'And where/ he would ask, * are your pub-
lic baths F' And if the minister of state who was his guide should
answer — * O, great CsBsar, I really do not know. I believe there are some
somewhere at the back of that ugly building which we call the National
Gallery ; and I think there have been some meetings lately in the East
End, and an Amateur Concert at the Albert Hall, for restoring, by
private subscriptions, some Baths and Washhouses in Bethnal Green,
which had fallen to decay. And there may be two or three more about
the metropolis ; for parish vodtries have powers by Act of Parliament to
establish such places if they think fit, and choose to pay for them out of
the rates,' — then, I think, the august shade might well make answer —
' We used to call you in old Bome northern barbarians. It seems that
you have not yet lost all your barbarian habits. Are you aware that in
every city in the Boman empire there were, as a matter of course, public
baths open, not only to the poorest freeman, but to the slave, .usually for
the payment of the smallest current coin, and often gratuitously ? Aro
you aware that in Bome itself, millionaire after millionaire, emperor after
emperor, from Menenius Agrippa and Nero down to Diocletian and Con->
stautine, built baths, and yet more baths; and connected them, with
gymnasia for exercise, with lecture rooms, libraries, and porticoes wherein
the people might have shade and shelter and rest P I remark, by tho
bye, that I have not seen in all your London a single covered place in
which the people may take shelter during a shower. Are you aware-
that these baths were of the most magnificent architecture, decorated
with marbles, paintings, sculptures, fountains — what not? And yet I
had heard in Hades down below that you prided yourselves here on tho
study of the learned languages ; and, indeed, taught little but Greek and
Latin at your public schools ? *

** Then, if the minister should make reply — *0h, yes, we know all
tliis. Even since the revival of letters in the end of the fiftecDth century
a whole literature has been written — a great deal of it, I fear, by old
pedants who seldom washed even their hands and faces — about your
Greek and Boman baths. We visit their colossal ruins in Italy and
elsewhere with awe and admiration ; and the discovery of a new Boman
bath in any old city in our isles sets our antiquaries buzzing with
interest.'

" * Then why,' the shade might ask, ' do you not copy an example
which you so much admire P Surely England must be much in want
either of water, or of fuel to heat it with P '

** * On the contrary, our rainfaU is almost too great ; our soil so damp
that we have had to invent a whole art of subsoil drainage unknown to
you ; while, as for fuel, our coal-mines mak^ us the great fuel-exporting
people of the world.*

Chap. L] 19

<* What a qniet snoer might curl the lip of a Confitantiue as he replied
— ' Not in yoin, as I said, did we call yon, some fifteen hundred years
ago, the barbarians of the north. But tell me, good barbarian, whom I
know to be both brave and wise^for the fame of your young British
empire has reached us even in the realms below, and we recognize in you,
with all respect, a people more like us Romans than any which has
appeared on earth for many centuries — ^how is it you have forgotten that
sacred duty of keeping the people clean, which you surely at one time
learnt from us ? When your ancestors entered our armies, and rose, some
of them, to be great generals, and even emperors, like those two Teuton
peasants, Justin and Justinian, who long after my days reigned in my
own Constantinople ; then, at least, you saw baths, and used them, and
ie}t, after the lath, that you were civilized men, and not ' tordidi ae
f(Btente$f as we used to call you when you were fresh out of your
bullock-waggons and cattle-pens. How is it that you have forgotten that
lesson ? *

" The minister, I fear, would have to answer that our ancestors were
barbarous enough, not only to destroy the Roman cities and temples,
and basilictfe and statues, but the Roman baths likewise, and then
retired, each man to his own freehold in the country, to live a life not
much more cleanly or more graceful than that of the swine which were
his favourite food. Bat he would have a right to plead as an excuse,
that not only in England, but throughout the whole of the conquered
Latin empire, the Latin priesthood, who in other respects were, to their
honour, the representatives of Roman civilization 4ihd the protectors of
its remnants, were the detonnined enemies of its cleanliness ; that they
looked on personal dirt — ^like the old hermits of the Thebaid — as a sign
of sanctity, and discouraged— as they are said to do still in some of the
Romance countries of Europe— the use of the bath, as not only luxurious,
but also indecent.

" At which answer, it seem to me, another sneer might curi the lip of
the august shade, as he said to himself, 'This, at least, I did expect,
when I made Christianity the State religion of my empire. But you,
my barbarian, look clean enough. You do not look on dirt as a sign of
sanctity ? *

** * On the contrary, sire, the upper classes of our empire boast of
being the cleanliest — perhaps the only perfectly cleanly — people in the
world— except, of course, the savages of the South Seas. And so far from
dirt beiog a thing which we admire, our scientific men— than whom the
world has never seen wiser— hav(: proved to us for a whole generation
past, that dirt is the fertile cauee of disease and drunkenness, misery and
recklessness.*
" * And, therefore,* replied the shade, ere he disappeared ' cf discontent

20 [Chap. I.

and revolution, followed by a tyranny endured, as in Home and many
another place, by men once free, because it will at least do for them what
they were too lazy, and cowardly, and greedy to do for themselves.
Farewell, and prosper, as you seem likely to prosper, on the whole. But
if you wish me to consider you a civilized nation, let me hear that you
have brought a great river from the depths of the earth, be they a thou-
sand fathoms deep, or from your nearest mountains, be they five hundred
miles away, and washed out London's dirt — and your own shame. And
till then, abstain from judging too harshly a Constantino, or even a
Caracalla ; for they, whatever were their sins, built baths and kept their
people clean. But do your gymnasia, your schools and universities,
teach your youth nought about all this ? ' "

One of my chief objects in preparing this work is
to show how far the Act has been utilized. In jAosecuting
inquiries for this purpose, it was found that Government
possessed but little information on the subject, and, with
the exception of a return obtained at the instance of Mr
P. Taylor, by the House of Commons in 1865, there
were no other statistics available, and these, on examin-
ation, were found to be incorrect ; therefore, the informa
tion, given in the following chapter, has been procured
direct from the respective parochial authorities, and
will show to every reader that the question has not
received that general attention which it eminently de-
serves, and which has been bestowed upon all other
sanitary matters. The statistics will exhibit the progress
and position of the Baths and Washhouses movement
since its commencement. When the pioneers of the move-
ment unfolded their scheme it was undoubtedlv renfarded
as purely philanthropic; such, indeed, it was, and like
every effort for the moral or physical elevation of a people,
such it must remain; but philanthropy does not
necessarily imply charity. Though not, perhaps, consti-
tuting the most lucrative and desirable investment for
capital from a commercial point of view, thirty years*
experience of the advantages of the Baths and Washhouses

Chap. L] 21

reform shows that they can be made to produce results
(pecuniary and otherwise) not altogether inappreciable in
annual balance sheets. But of this I shall have more to
say further on ; as also to show that the direct profits
might be materially increased by the adoption of the
Turkish Bath and the warm lavatory as a substitute for,
or in addition to, the warm bath.

It was from a consideration of these facts that, when it Proposal
was proposed to erect Public Baths and Washhouses for Hot-air
the parish of Paddington, I argued that a very beneficial ^^^jj^ *^
deviation might be made from the usual plan of such Wash-
establishments by the addition of hot-air baths. I there- '^°^^''
fore submitted to the Paddington Vestry, March 19th,
1872, the following resolution, which was referred to the
Commissioners : — *

lliati inasmuch as sanitary matters are at present occupying the
serious attootion of the LegislaturOi with a view to the better protection
of public health, and it being generally admitted that the use of hot-air
baths has materially conduced to the health of the people, it be referred
to a special committee to furnish a report upon the desirability of this
Vestry recommending the Commissioners for Baths and Washhouses
making arrangements for the erection on the site about to be purchased
by them of a suitable Turkish Bath for the use of the working classes.

To obviate any doubt as to the legality of adopting Letter
these Baths, I obtained the following letter from the Gov3rn-
Local Government Board :— S^^*,

Board.

Local Government l^oard, Whitehall,
I2th February, 1873.

SiK, — ^I am directed by the Local Government Board to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of the 22nd ultimo, with reference to the pro-
« ' ■

* No exertion on my part was omitted to make my colleagues
understand the benefits to be derived from the addition of Hot-air
Baths, both in a sanitary and financial point of view, but they,
acting upon the ancient aphorism, ** Where ignorance is bliss 'tis folly to
be wise," determined not to acc[uaint themselves with the subject or
entertain its adoption.

22 [Chap. L

posal of the Ccmmissioners of Baths and "Washhouses for the parish of
Paddington to erect a Tuikish Bath.

In reply to your inquiry, I am directed to state that, in the opinion of
the hoard, for large populations, such as that of Paddington, the Turkish
Bath mny reasonably he regarded as a sanitary agent — that is to say,
that for certain portions of the population, such a bata might conduce to
the preservation of health.

Looking at the proposal from a legal point of view, the Board direct me
to state that, although the statutes to which you refer contain no defini*
lion of baths, the schedule to the statutei^ 10 and 11 Yict, cap. 61
recognizes a vapour bath, and the Board therefore apprehend that there
would be no legal objection to the establishment of a Turkish Bath.

The schedule referred to, however, limits the rate of charge for the

admission to the bath provided by the commissioners, fixing twopence as

the maximum charge for labouring classes, and sixpence for higher

classes of persons, so that, apparently, the bath must be supplied at a

loss.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

H. FLEMMING, Secretary,

But, though the proposition to estabh'sh baths and
washhouses was finally adopted, my resolution to render
them more efficient was rejected.

•-T^

Chap. U.] 23

CHAPTER 11.
Baths and Washhouses erected on the Hates under

THE PROVISIONS OP THE BaTH AcT, 9 AND 10 VlC,

Cap. 74, with a complete financial return of
their original cost and working expenses since

the date of OPENING EACH ESTABLISHMENT.

(METBOPOLITAKO

** Only in a strong and clean body can the soul do its message fitly.
The praises of cold water seem to me an excellent sign of the age*
They denote a tendency to the true life. We are now to have, as a
remedy for ills, not orvictan, or opiam, or any quack medicine, but
plenty of air and water, with due attention to warmth and freedom
in dress and simplicity of diet. Every day we observe signs that the
natural feelings on these subjects are about to be reinstated, and the
body to claim care as the abode and organ of the soul, not as the tool of
:servile labour or the object of voluptuous indulgence." — Maroabst
Fuller, American Authoress,

THE information in this and the following chapter has Introdnc-
been collected and arranged with great care; it presents marks.
a concise view of the whole question , and will enable the
reader to see almost at a glance what has been done in
the direction of providing baths and washhouses for the
people^ the original cost of the various metropolitan and
provincial establishments^ the relative receipts and ex-
penditure in. working them, and the measure of support
they have received.

No pains and perseverance have been spared on the part
of the author to obtain correct returns, while the names of
those from whom the information has been obtained aro

24 [Chap. IL

published with a view to making them responsible for
its accuracy. The difficulty experienced in obtaining
these returns has lean very great indeed, in fact
it has taken me four years to get them in their
present complete form. My inquiries were met with
all kinds of objections, which I can only under-
stand by supposing that the Bath accounts have
been mixed up in almost inextricable confusion with the
general parochial accounts. While I could, as a rule,
readily get a portion of the required information, it was
only by repeated applications made by myself, or indi-
viduals employed by me for the purpose, that I succeeded
in bringing the information to its present completeness.
In some cases local friends of influence succeeded where I
had altogether failed ; for example : Mr. William Hoyle^
the philanthropic statistician, obtained the desired informa-
tion relating to the Bury baths (jfter I had been flatly
refused it. Seeing that the Act provides that a separate
set of books should be kept for the accounts, it is obvious
that the intention was that the accounts should be so kept
as to show, at a glance, the financial condition at any
period during which the baths had been in operation, and
it is somewhat surprising that the Auditor appointed by
Government should not have insisted upon this plan being
adhered to, and a uniform system adopted throughout the
country. Were this the case, not only would the informa-
tion be available to the public, but it would be most
valuable to the Commissioners or to any other authority
which might be working the Act.

The Government spares no labour or expense in pro-
curing and publishing information, often of the most
minute and elaborate kind, respecting the condition and
occupation of the various peoples of the earthy civilized
and uncivilized, wherever our consular system extends*

Chap. IL] 25

In these directions we get " tons of Blue Books,** and
the information may possibly be of some remote interest
or even use, but I would suggest that home matters are
of the greatest importance to us.

It seems strange^ indeed, that the accounts to which I
have been referring, together with the accounts of all
other sanitary departments, are not regularly and
periodically deposited at some central oiBce where the
information might be tabulated for public inspection, if
not published annually. I would suggest that in each
county the information should be collected and deposited
with the county authorities for use and reference by the
respective inhabitants, and that in the metropolitan
district the Registrar-General should be the depository
and custodian of these annual statements.

I have every reason to believe that the metropolitan
returns are in the main correct, but in some of the
provincial I am afraid that neither the appeal made
nor the interest of the subject was sufficient to induce
the authorities to take much trouble with tlie accounts ;
consequently I am disposed to think that some of the
returns are not so correct as they might be. Of course,
this is only a surmise on my part, as I have had no
other means of drawing this inference except from
communications obtained piece-meal, but whatever the
shortcomings may be, it is but just to say that this is
the first attempt, officially or otherwise, to collect a
correct financial statement of the question, and I do
not despair of being able to effect my object before I
issue a second edition. I must say considerable credit
attaches to the various authorities for the trouble they
have taken in tlie matter, and I hope I am not ungrate-
ful for such information as they liave supplied.

The population is given from the last census, with a

26 [Chap. II.

view of showing the ridiculous inadequacy of the Bath
and Washhouse accommodation provided for the masses.

METROPOLITAN BATHS.

St. Marylebonb.

Baths opened December I8th, 1849. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths ... X'23,671

Total amount raised from rates 21,450

Heceipts since date of opening 80,987

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... 70,049

Accounts made up to March, 1875.

£. S. FOOT, SupertHtendent.

Marble The parish of Marylebone has a population of 159,254^

and the rateable value is £1,304,898.

The baths are situated in the Marylebone Eoad, at the
extrfeme border of the parish, in clo^e proximity in the
north to Lisson Grove, Bell Street, &c., a thickly populated
neighbourhood, and on the west (in the adjoining parish
of Paddington), Hall Park, Edgware Road — a large block
of middle- class houses^ with an artizan population of about
3000.

The baths have an area of 21,672 square feet, and
comprise 4 swimming baths, viz. :— a first-class, 24 by
45 feet, which holds 31,464 gallons ; a second-class,
21 by 67 feet, holds 37,887 gallons ; a third-class, 21 by
67 feet, holds 37,887 gallons ; and a new bath, 72 by 26
feet, holds 56,000 gallons. 24 first-class and 57 second-
class men's baths,. 12 first-class and 14 second-class
women's baths, ironing and drying rooms, 240 washers
can be accommodated daily.

The receipts have exceeded the working expenditure by
£10,938, which has been applied in paying interest, and
in making improvements and additions to the baths.

Chap. II.] 27

This was tlie first bath opened in London erected under
the Act, and it may be regarded as the parent or model
institution^ as but little deviation has been made from its
plans and arrangements hy the projectors of otlier baths
and washhouses in the metropolis. Being the first, it
had necessarily many difficulties to pass through ; never-
theless, it has been very successful in a pecuniary point of
view, which may in measure be attributed to the excellent
management of the BU])erintendent, who has been connected
with it since its commencement.

There are no less than four excellent swimminor baths
provided, one of which has only lately been opened^ and
is one of the most artistic in London.

After the Stingo Lane improvements were completed,
the Commissioners purcliased from the Metropolitan
Board of Works, at an extravagant outlay, the site for
this swimming bath, which, including the ground, cost
upwards of £7000. It may be observed that this addi-
tional bath accommodation was quite unnecessary for the
neighbourhood, the more especially as Paddington had
already erected an establishment not more than a mile-
west of it, and, consequently, the number of bathers was
more likely to diminish than increase.

It would have been more prudent on the part of the Com-
missioners if they had added £5000 to the £8000 expended
uselessly on the fourth swimming bath, and erected a
second establishment in the neighbourhood of Maryle-
bone Lane, nearly in the centre of the parish, provided
with washhouses and warm water baths only. They would
have supplied a want much needed by the people, and at the
same time obtained fresh support from those who would
never use the present establishment on account of the
distance ; and in a pecuniary view they would have
proved equally, as successful, but now they have sunk an

28 [Chap.il

additional £7000 or £8000 without the prospect of
increasing their returns one penny, in fact, with every
probability of their returns being reduced.

St. Margaret and St. John, Westminster.

Baths opened May, 1851. ''(Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building £15,(00

Total amount raised from rates 20,460

Eeceipts since date of opening .^ 60,900

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... 60,37S
Aeeounta made up to March, 1876.

W. ROGERS, CUrJc.

St. Mar- The parishes of St. Margaret and St. John, Westminster,
sTjohn^ have a population of 66,050 and Hie rateable value is
West- £521,811. The baths are situated in Great Smith Street,
which is a very low and crowded neighbourhood — a more
suitable spot could not be found — and it is encouraging to
find that the people have appreciated the baths to such a
large extent. The returns show that this establishment has
been conducted and maintained with great efficiency and
economy. The authorities have not been tempted into
extravagant expenditure in alterations and so called
improvements, as is the case in some other parishes,
thus violating the spirit of the Act. The baths have
an area of 152 by 122 feet, they are all on the ground
floor, and comprise 28 first and 40 second-class baths,
a first-class swimming bath 24 by 32 feet, and a
second-class 24 by 42 feet. There are 65 washing tubs.
The original cost of the building has been repaid. Tho
receipts exceed the expenditure by £522, and, con-
sidering the cash has been chiefly derived from the poorer
classes using tho baths, the financial result is very good
indeed, and shows that the poor, huddled together moro-
like pigs than Christians, only require a good institution
placed before thera and they will avail themselves of the
advantages it offers.

Chap. II.] 29

St. James, Westminsteb.

Baths opened June, 1852. (Site Freehold.

Original cost of building baths X2I,000

Total amount raised from rates 2G,476

Amount of Loan remaining unpaid 6,133

Receipts since date of opening 67(478

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... 66|602

Aceowiti made up to JDectinbtr^ 1875.

ROBERT KERR, CUrk.

This parifih has a rateable value of £567,771, and a St. James,
population of 15,619. minster.

The baths are situated in Marshall Street, Golden
Square, one of the most desirable localities of any in the
metropolis, amidst a densely populated and imhealthy
neighbourhood.

The baths comprise 25 first and 46 second-class men's
baths, 15 first and 18 second-class women's baths^ dnd a
swimming bath 42 by 38 feet, ?4 washing tubs, drying
and ironing rooms. The returns do not depend upon
tl e patronage of the first-class bathers, but the second-
class, a class the Act was intended to benefit. The financial
results here again point to the fact that if baths are
brought to the homes of the poor they will use them. The
receipts exceed the expenditure £871. The costs of altera-
tions and additions to the baths have been consider*
able, and are included in the working expenditure. Up
to this date £26,476 has been raised from the rates for
principal and interest, and £G 1 33 remains to be paid off
the original loan for building.

Poplar.

Baths opened July lath, 1852. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths £11,500

Total amount raised from rates ^4,740

Beceipts since date of opening ' 25.383

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 29,728

Accounts made up to March, 1876.

E. COLEMAN.

30 [Chap. II.

Poplar. The parish of Poplar has a population of 48,611^ and

the rateable value is £294,1 93.

The baths are admirably situated in the East India
Dock Road, in the midst of a population comprised of
sailors, ship-carpenters and smiths, dock-porters and
labourers, sugar-refiners and others of a similar character.
With such a population it is difficult to understand the
want of appreciation as shown by the receipts unless it
arises from mismanagement, or a want of greater accom*
modation in the summer. In the winter months these estab*
lishments are worked at a loss, while in summer, during
the hot weather, they are crowded to suffocation ; hence
it is desirable that there should be very large accommoda*
tion to meet the requirements in summer so as to compen-
sate for the losses in the winter ; therefore I am inclined
to believe that one of the reasons why these baths show
such a bad financial return is that they are too small.
Had they been one-third larger, which in the first instance
would not have cost more than £5000, it would have made
a favourable difference in the returns, while the actual
working expenses would not have been perceptibly
increased.

The baths have an area of 120 by 120 feet, and contain
12 first and 24 second-class men's baths, 6 first and 6
second-class women's baths ; a first-class swimming bath,
42 by 26 feet; a second-class swimming bath, 42 by 26
feet ; 48 washing tubs ; ironfng and drying rooms.

The original cost has been paid, 6ut the expenditure
has exceeded the receipts £4345, which has to be made
up from the rates, so that this establishment has hitherto
proved a failure in a financial point of view, although
the expenditure has been distributed over a period of a
quarter of a century.

Chap. IL] 31

St. GiLES-m-THs-FiELDS AKD St. Geobqe Bloousbur7.

Bathi opened in 1854. (Site Fieehold.)

Original cost of building baths £20,857

Total amount raised from rates since date of opening 14,000

Keceipts since date of opening 79,230

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 70,579

Aeeount$ made up to March, 1876.

J. ROBINSON, Uon, Sec.

These parishes have a population of 47,556 and the ?*• ^'il'-^-
rateable value is £332,602. The baths are situated in Fields
Endell Street, in the immediate neighbourhood oFq^^^"^^;
Holborn, Druiy Lane, Seven Dials, and other very Bloonn-
crowded districts; a large proportion of the inhabitants ^^^*
are very poor, with many small middle-class trades-
men. The buildinor contains 18 first and 3i) second-class
men*s baths, 8 first and 8 second-class women's baths ;
A first-class swimming bath, 36 by 24 feet, holding 25,000
gallons ; a second-class swimming bath, 40 by 24 feet,
holding 30,000 gallons ; 54 washing tubs ; drying and
ironing rooms.

The original loan has been repaid, £8651 having been
contributed from the profits towards it. The financial
result of this establishment is another evidence of the
appreciation of baths by the lower classes.

BERMONDSEy.
Baths opened June 24th, 1854. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths ;C16,500

Total amount raised from rates 20,650

Receipts since date of opening 49,664

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... 42,768

Accounts made up to March 2othf 1876.

W. COENWELL.

This parish has a population of 80,429, and the rateable Bcrmcnd.
value is £357,042. The Baths are situated in Spa Road,
in the mid«t of tanners, curriers, leather dressers, skinners,

32 [Chap. IL

and other extensive and obnoxious trades. They comprise
20 first, 31 second-class men's baths, 6 first and 8 second-
class women's baths, and 2 swimming baths, 30 by 29 feet.
The financial results show that this establishment has
been well patronised. The bathers number, since date of
opening, 2,229,447, and washers, 673,335. The original
loan has been repaid and the receipts exceed the expendi-
ture £6896. It will be seen that the accommodation is less
than any other, except Poplar, yet it has yielded more thai^i
any other bath with the same capital expended, which is
mainly due to its economical and excellent manage-
ment. The Commissioners have given the people all they
require in regard to bath and washhouse accommodation ;
and have avoided useless expenditure upon ornamentation,
always holding in view that the object of these institutions
is mainly to meet the wants of those of their poorer
brethren who have no accommodation at home for washing
and drying their clothes, and cannot afford to pay more
than 2d. for a warm bath ; thus rigidly keeping within
the meaning of the Act of Parliament.

St. George, Hanover Square.

Baths opened 1865. (Site Leasehold to the Tcstry.)

Original cost of building baths £33,861

Raised from rates ... 57,608

Loans borrowed 35,000

Heceived for rents 2,056

Eepayments to Vestry and rents 19,798

Kepayment on account. of loan ... 47,448

Beceipts from baths since date of opening _ 95,036

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... 88,591

Accounts made up to March, 1875.

J. H. DOGGETT.

St.George, jj^g parish of St. George, Hanover Square, has a popu-
Square. lation of 89,G77, and the rateable value is £1,499,954.

Ciur. IL] 33

Tliis is a very rich parish and tho poor-rates are
merely nominal. No other metropolitan parish contains
so small a relative proportion of working classes,
hence it had less necessity for baths than any other parish.
There are two establishments in this parish one for the out-
ward and one for the inward wards. Davies Street Baths, in
the inward^ comprise 14 first and 18 second-class men's
baths, 7 first and 8 second-class women's baths, and 36
washing tubs. It is situated at the border of the parish,
and so far as the support given by the poor is concerned,
much of it must come from the Marylebone parish in the
neighbourhood of Marylebone Lane district, &c. The baths
in Buckingham Palace Road in the outward ward have 16
first and 17 second-class men's baths, 6 first and 8 second-
class women's baths, and 44 washing tubs ; they are much
resorted to bv the residents in Fimlico and Chelsea immc-
diately contiguous.

It is difficult to understand the accounts as presented to
ns. We find £57^608 has been raised from the rates in
addition to loans amounting to £35,000, and yet the repay-
ments oh account of loan are only £47,448. It is therefore
impossible to determine the amount of loan remaining
unpaid. It is, moreover, a curious fact that the lease of
the premises in Davies Street will expire Lady Day, 1881,
and that of Buckingham Palace Road, Lady Day, 1886, in
both instances before the last instalments of original loan are
due. The only way we can account for the this is that
the baths are leased from the Vestry, as an item of
£19,798 has been repaid to that body. I believe both
establishments must be worked at a loss, but unless the
cost of building and repayment of loans are included in
the receipts and expenditure, the returns show a
profit.

It is always pleasing to see public bodies give the people.

34 [Chap. II.

both rich and poor, all requisite sanitary institutions, but of
all the metropolitan parishes, St. George's is the one that
least required baths and washhouses, and yet it has spent
more upon them than any other excepting Paddington; how-
ever, being a yerj rich parish the ratepayers can afford
to pay for it. I am sorry to say we have had many pain-
ful instances where local authorities have put in motion
Acts of Parliament relating to other sanitary depart-
ments thereby involving the ratepayers in enormous debts
when not actually required. I do think it is wrong of tho
Government to allow any petty authority to adopt an
Act, and create enormous debts upon the people, with-
out appointing an inspector to regulate the expenditure
to the ratepaying capabilities of the parish, especially in
new neighbourhoods.

St. Martins- iN-THE-FiELDS.

Baths opened 1856. (Site LofUKyhold ^Fem l^e Crown.)

Original cost of building baths ... £21,000

Total amount raised fronr rates , 25,155

Amotart of loan remaining unpaid •• 5,700

Beceipts since date of opening 44,388

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... 46,022

Ac€0uni8 made up to December ZUt, 1875.

J. DANGERFIELB, Clerk.

St. Mar- This parish has a population of 21,238 and the rateable
ttw-Kelds value is £350,710. The baths are situated in Hemming's
Row, St. Martin's Lane, a very appropriate site, having
Leicester Square on the north, and the Strand district to
the east, a very densely populated neighbourhood. The
baths have an area of 100 by 40 feet and comprise 18 men's
first and 34 second-class, 5 women's first and 7 second-
class baths, and 61 washing tubs; ironing and drying

Chap. U.] 85

rooms. This establishment has always been worked under
disadvantages, with a heavy ground rent of £80 per
4innum. So far as concerns washing the clothing and
bodies of the people, these baths have, notwithstanding all
the drawbacks, succeeded better than any other institu-
tion of the kind, both in a sanitary and pecuniary point
of view.

Swimming baths are generally considered the most
lucrative of all, and St Martin's having none sustains this
loss, hence the receipts represent the return upon the
cleansing baths and washing clotliing, a wholesome fact
worthy the notice of sanitary reformers and to be remem^
bered when adooeating tlie adoption of •this branch of
^ience. There can be no question that the first outlay was
relatively too large for the accommodation afibrded, the
commissioners commenced crippled for room, with a heavy
^ound rent, minus one of the most lucrative branches of
the business, viz., the swimming bath, and have been but
meagrely supported by first-class bathers. The expen-
diture exceeds the receipts £1634, the loss is, however,
relatively small when we consider the number of years it
extends over^ and the great boon confeiTed upon thousands
of human beings of ail nationalities living in the neigh-
bourhood.

St. Pancras.

Baths opened May 19th, 1868. (Site Freehold.)

Origixud cost of building baths £23,000

Total amount raised from rates 10,085

Amount of loan remaining unpaid ... ... ,.• ... 13,525

Becetpts since date of opening 25,266

Expenditure (woxiung espenses) since date of opening ... 18,292

W. BBID.

The parish of St. Pancras lias a populailon of 221,465 S<^
and tho rateable value is £1,299,913. The baths are

D 2

36 ' [Chap. IL

situated in King Street in tho very centre of a densely
populated neighbourhood. Tliis parish has attained some
little notoriety in its parochial management, but it is-
more than probable that it has been much villified by the
public press, when we consider that it is one of the largest
and poorest parishes in London ; and it requires no
little dexterity to manage the affairs of such great magni-
tude with efficiency, with a board necessarily composed of
such infinitely varied opinions. It is, however, pleasing to
observe in the management of the baths as shown by the
financial statements, that the functionaries of St. Pancras are
not such bad business men as they have been represented.

The loan was* borrowed from the Public Works Loan
Commissioners at 5 per cent, repayable in 20 years. The
baths have an area of 9550 feet, have only been opened
8 years, and the receipts exceed the expenditure £7080,
which is by far the largest profit made by any estab-
lishment erected under the Act. There are 26 men's
first-class and 67 second-class baths, 8 first and 10
second-class women's baths, swimming baths, and 6S
washing tubs. The bathers number 1,407,759, and washers
199,118.

The Commissioners have purchased a site for a
second establishment in Fitzroy Market, Tottenham
Court Road. Tenders for plans were sent out, and
the one by Mr. Grundy accepted. The cost will be
about the same as their other baths, also designed by
the same architect. Judging from the dense population
in this neighbourhood, there is every reason to believe
that this second establishment will be equally successful.
This is the course that ought to have been followed
by the St. Marylebone Commissioners, instead of adding
another swimming bath as they have done.

This second venture is, no doubt, in a measure owing to
tlie great success of their first establishment.

Chap. II.] 37

Paddingtok,

Baths opened June, 1874. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths ... ••• £48,000

Raised from rates ... ... ... ••• ••■ ••• ... 2,579

Amount of loan remaining unpaid ... ... 48,000

Receipts since date of opening 7f036

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... 6,093

Aeeountt made up to December, l87o.

J. TAYLOR.

The parish of Paddington has a population of 98,813, P^^»^tS'
tind tho rateablo value is £1,078,700. The baths are
«ituatcd in tho Queen's Road, Westbourne Grove, sur-
rounded by very respectable inhabitants, and quite away
from any poor population. The establishment of these
baths was energetically supported by F. Powell, Esq.,
late M.P. for the N.W, Biding of Yorkshire, and
E. G. Davenport, Esq., now deceased, who was M.P.
for St Ives. Both were members of the Vestry at the
time. The baths have an area of 280 by 137 feet, and
comprise : — a first-class swimming bath, 90 by 40 feet ;
a second-class, 57 by 30 feet ; a third-class, 55 by 30
feet, and a women's swimming bath, 68 by 30 feet ; 28
first-class and 46 second-class men's warm baths, 10
£rst and 12 second-class women's warm baths, and 36
washing tubs. The receipts in eighteen months were £7036,
and expenditure (working expenses) £601)3 ; showing a
nett profit of £943, a result which must necessarily have
proceeded from the patronage of first-class bathers in
the swimming baths, and not from the warm water
baths.

The building and plant cost the ratepayers the
enormous round sum of £48,000, a sum more than treble
that expended in some other metropolitan parishes.

38 [Chap. IL

When the Commissioners went before the Vestry for
the money to purchase the site there were a great many
objections urged against the large amount asked for, and
it was only granted through the plausible statement that
they could recoup themselves at least one half by letting-
or selling a portion of the frontage for shops, still leaving
sufficient room for the erection of baths behind. Curiously
enough, however, after the Commissioners obtained the-
concession, they made no eflForts to fulfil their promises^
and the Vestry had no power to compel them to do so.

Tenders were sent out for building the baths, and out
of some nine competitors, the lowest, £23,500, was-
accepted, which provided for the present baths with the
exception of -the ladies' swimming bath. The amount was-
not considered excessive ; but what is most extraordinary
nearly £20,000 more was spent for extras, which is a
circumstance, I think, unprecedented not only in bath
establishments, but in any undertaking built under
contract.

Extravagances of this kind reflect great discredit upon
any public body, and frighten ratepayers in other parishes
from incurring even necessary expenses, so that sani-*
tary and other improvements are often retarded in
consequence.

The commissioners might have provided all the ac-
commodation necessary for a sum not exceeding £30,000,.
including site and swimming baths, and recouped them-
selves at least £5000 by re-selling a portion of the ground
as at first contemplated, and the financial issue, so far a*,
the receipts are ccncerned, would have proved as much
as it is on the £48,000.

If the commissioners had been so disposed they micrht
have expended the extra money very judiciously in pro-
viding a second establishment with warm water baths and

Chap. 11.J 39

wasbhouses iii the neiglibourliood of Lock Bridge^ Harrow
Road, the very centre of the artizan and poor popula-
tion of the parish, which would not only have conferred a
benefit upon the people, but have greatly aided the
sanitary authorities in improving the condition of tho
neighbourhood, which is much required.

After all, £943 over and above the working expenses for
eighteen months does not show a very healthy return with
a capital of £50,000 sunk, even with all the pushing the
establishment has had since it has been opened. It is
self-evident to every intelligent mind who knows anything
of the wants of the poor of Paddington, that such an
outlay was not needed, especially in the neighbourhood of
Westbourne Grove ; in fact, every principle of economy has
been violated, as well as the Act of Parliament perverted.
The institution is just as much a trading speculation as
their next door neighbour's, Mr. Whiteley, the " universal
provider,"

As a ratepayer of the parish of Paddington my advice
is, seeing that Mr. Whitelev has a mania for buying up
everybody's business in Westbourne Grove, the most wise
and best course to adopt would be to get that gentleman to
buy them out, and commence de novo, in a more suitable
neighbourhood and not invest all the money in one
concern.

At the very outside, Paddington only comprises about
19,000 of the labouring classes whose wants are required to
be met ; the major portion of this class reside from three-
quarters to two miles distant from the baths, hence this
establishment must always depend for its chief support
from persons whose social position does not need the
local authorities to provide them with baths and places to
wash their clothing at the expense of the ratepayers,
any more than with providing them with clothing or food.

40 [Chap. 1L

The origiDal debt and interest of these baths will no
doubt have to be paid by the ratepayers, and if baths and
washhouses are to be erected by the Artizans' Dwellings
Company, on the Queen's Park Estate, Harrow Road,
which is intended to accommodate 10,000 souls, I am
inclined to think that the Faddington Baths will be less
likely to pay their working expenses.

Chap. II.J

41

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42 [Chap. IT.

Remarks It is admitted by both Conservative and Liberal politi-
^Ktan^" cians that there is no branch of sanitary science of greater
Batha. importance, or calculated to be productive of more real
good, than providing the people with ample baths and
washing tubs^ especially when such institutions can be
made lucrative, a result not to be effected in other
branches. The foregoing financial statement shows that
a capital of £234,000 expended piecemeal over a period
of thirty years, has yielded a profit of £35,000 over and
above the working expenses, notwithstanding the extrava-
gance in the original cost, while the plant and premises, by
additions, &c., have increased in value at least 10 per cent.,
making, in round numbers, the profits £50,000. This
must be gratifying to every ardent supporter of a move-
ment set in motion for the better purification of the bodies
and clothing of a section of the community who cannot
individually help themselves.

Millions of pounds have been spent in sanitary im-
provements, from which no pecuniary return can be ex-
pected except what might be gained through the
reduction of the Poor Rate by the improved health of
the people. Yet the Bath and Washhouse Movement
has scarcely been recognized, although quite as im-
portant in the promotion of the people's health, and
capable of yielding a direct profit to the ratepayers on
the money invested, as is shown by the financial returns*
Surely then it is an institution which commends itself to
every social reformer, and should have received greater
attention and if necessary the Act made compulsory.

It is marvellous what great boons may be conferred
upon the people by a system of co-operation, which has
been shown by the gigantic sanitary improvements the
Metropolitan Board of Works have effected, and are
still effecting, at a comparative small cost to individual
ratepayers of the metropolitan area.

Chap. II. J 43

A rate of 6cl. in the pound upon an assessment of «*
£8,000,000, the rateability of the parishes which have
adopted the Act, has been sufficient to put into operation
ten large bathing establishments. It must be admitted
that this is a very meagre sum to be expended for wash-
ing a population of 846,712, compared with expenses in-
curred in other sanitary improvements ; yet these parish
authorities have done more than their neighbours, and,
in many instances, were less justified in incurring extra
expenses upon their fellow ratepayers.

Although the gross outlay has been borne by the ten
parishes, the support the establishments have met with is
as much due to adjacent parishes as their own. There
are a great number of persons residing in other parts of
the parish, whose wants the establishments ought to have
met, who are precluded from the benefits in consequence of
the distance. It appears to me one of the great hindrances
to the adoption of the Act, is the expense falling upon
individual parishes, and, after careful examination of the
question, I have come to the conclusion that the cost
of erecting baths should be met from a rate levied upon the
whole of the metropolitan area — a rate so insignificantly
small that it would never be felt. Baths are sanitary
necessities for the people, and should be placed in suitable
localities, regardless of the boundaries of any parish.
This arrangement would remove local burdens and every
obstacle out of the way of the adoption of the Act,

In erecting these sanitary institutions the wealthier
portion of the community often escape the tax by living
in a neighbourhood or parish where the Bath Act is
never likely to be enforced, and it must be evident to
every sound politician, that to effect any great good, the
rich should bear part of the burden. About twenty more
establishments, in addition to the ten already existin

44 [Chap. II.

would reach the requirements of the artizan population of
London. Eighteen-pence in the pound would cover the
whole cost, supposing the debt to be discharged at once,
but if the money was borrowed by the Metropolitan Board
of Works over a long period at a small interest, the present
financial results of the existing establishments show,
(notwithstanding many have been erected without regard
to expense or economy) that the profits over and above
the working expenses would pay principal and interest
in sixty years, this may be illustrated by taking the
returns of 4 baths, viz., St. Margaret's and St. John's
Westminster, St. James's Westminster, St. Giles*
Bloomsbury, and Bermoudsey, where the major portion
of the money has been received from 2d. baths, their
original cost amounts to £73,357, receipts £247,267, and
expenditure £230,327, leaving a profit of 16,940 towards
the original cost over and above working expenses, cost
of additions, &c., which may be computed at 10 per
cent, upon the whole receipts, making the profit at least
£25,000 in twenty-five years, and there is no disputing
the fact that the swimming baths at these establishments
are very small; if they had greater accommodation
in this department, the receipts would be sufficiently
augmented to cover the original debt in sixty years.

It is a disgraceful fact, unworthy of the 19th century^
considering the march science has made in every other
direction, that the wisdom that governs parochial affairs
of the metropolis has only seen fit to provide 840 warm
baths^ and about as many \ira8hing tubs^ for the poor
amongst 3,500^000 people, located within an area of
75^000 acres or 122 square miles. This is^ to say the
least of it, a neglect of the essential creature comforts
of a section of the community who were born with
abilities that will only command such a remuneration as

Chap. II.] 45

enables them to provide iheir daily bread^ and whose
habitations must necessarily be restricted in healthful
flccommodation.

The working of the Baths and Washhouses Act is
vested in a Commission of ** not less than three or more
than seven persons being ratepayers of the parish/' they
are appointed by the Vestry, though not necessarily from
among its members. This Commission duly constituted
is independent of the Vestry, acting solely and entirely on
its own responsibility, except that it has to. apply to and
receive from the Vestry all such moneys as are necessary
to the carrying out of the Act ; but once having obtained
those moneys it is as regards its disbursement in no way
subject to. the control of the Vestry, beyond being bound
to submit its accounts annually to the inspection and
examination of two persons (not being commissioners)
appointed by the Vestry for that purpose.

It may be urged that the Commissioners for Public
Baths and Washhouses are open to criticism, and if not
approved others would be appointed in their place, but
only one-third of the members go out of office annually,
so that the Board cannot be entirely renewed under three
years, during this time great and irreparable mischief may
be done, and is done, especially at the commencement of
a new enterprise.

It is useless to expect that baths and washhouses can
be erected economically so long as they are under the
control and supervision of such an anomalous governing
body as that which has the direction of them at pre-
sent. They ought to be placed under the jurisdiction
of parishes, in the same way as lighting, paving,
sanitary matters, and other parish affairs are, or some
other more competent authorities, such as the Metro-
politan Board of Works, and until this is done we may

45 [Chap. II.

look for other sucb exhibitioDS of incapacity as have
been presented in the case of Paddington Baths and
Washhouses. The ratepayers' money will be squan-
dered in the most lavish and reckless manner on gilding
and stucco, while plans and suggestions for economy are
entirely disregarded.

I may observe, in conclusion, that of the ten parishes
where the Act has been exercised, the population is
about 1,000,000s hence it will be found that there is but
one bath provided for each 1003 persons; and assuming
the Act was not intended to benefit more than one half
of these, it would take at least a month before each
bather's turn would come round again, supposing the
baths to be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. This is a state
cf things discreditable to the Government of a civilized
Christian country.

Dr. Tidy, Medical Officer of Health for Islington,
who must be regarded as an authority, remarks in his
last report : —

" It is an instructive fact, and it is no use for us to shut our eyes to it»
or to try and blind other x)eoplc*8 eyes. The two x>oint8 I am desirous of
making clear to yon are these : 1. That, so far as mortality is concerned,
the records of the past twenty years show little or no marked impiove-
ment, and that therefore your chances of living and dying in 1876 are
pretty nearly the same as they were in 1856. 2. That, although we
have in a measure stopped the ravages of some diseases, still, in order to
hring up the death rate to what I may call its normal per-centage, other

diseases must have, and have increased in a like ratio If at

every church and chapel (for here we ought to find the true spirit of
work and progress) Sanitary Organization Societies (not Charity Organ-
sation SocietieB) were started, what an immense work th^ might effect.
Ignoiance is the parent of £lth, and filth is the parent of disease ; know«
ledge is the parent of cleanliness, and of the love of the beautiful, and
tiiese bring forth health. We may be ceitain of this, tihat in sanitary
measures, even so simple a thing as cleanliness requires to be learnt just
as mnch as the latin grammar ; and similarly, too, its use is not alwaya
appreciated at the time it is being learnt. Where else can we look for it
to be taught, but to recognized teachers ?

Chap. IL] 47

The editor of the Glche^ of 19 th October, sensibly
remarks on Metropolitan Lethargy.

" Next in importance to providing the working classes in towns with
more decent dwellings, comes the need of public baths. A little has
already been done in liondon to supply this want, but nothing, as we
have repeatedly poin ted out, in comparison with public requirements.
Until every unit of the metropolitan population has within easy reach
such means of ablution, it caimot be said that London even approaches
the ideal of hygienic perfection. Nor does there seem any valid reason
why the good work should not bo made to return a reasonable rate of
interest on the capital expended. The baths at Manchester, which the
corporation of that town are now thinking of purchasing for the public,
have so tax showed a fair balance-sheet. After deducting expenses, the
balance of profit suffices to pay about 3 per cent, on the amount sunk in
construction. It is true this moderate interest would not tempt private
capital into the venture. But the obligations of the Metropolitan Board
of Works are g^wing into greater favour with the public year afterye&r,
the present price of their 3} per cent, stock being over par. AsBnnmig
that they will soon be able to borrow at \ per cent, less, and tixot a
•ystem of pnUic batiis could be so snsnged m to return a steady 3 per
cent, per annum, the loss on the operation would be very trifling in
comparison with the benefits resulting to the community. Moreover, it
18 said l^t the Manchester baths were built in a very extravagant
fiidiion, involving a large expenditiae of capital more than was really
necessary. One authority goes so far as to assert that equal accommodation
might have been provided £or a quarter of the sum expended. If this be
true, London could, perhaps, be supplied throughout without involving
any increased charge on Tatepayen. Be that as it may, the work is one
that ought to be taken in hand on« comprehensive scale without delay.
In matters of this sort, it is the province of the metropolis to set a good
example to other centres of population. London, unfortunately, seema
generally disposed to lag behind in the race, as is seen in the sluggishness
of its movements in connection with the Artisans* and Labourers' Dwell-
ings Act."

48 [Chap. m.

. CHAPTER IIL

PROVINCIAL BATHS AND ^VASHHOUSES.

Bedfordshibe.

Ateaof ihe County, 305,293 acres; population in 1871, 151,539.

LITTON.

Baths opened Jane 3rd, 1872. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths jSl,2oO

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 1,125

Beoeipts since date of opening 541

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... 1,160

Bequired fipom rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 619
Aectnmti made up to May, 1876.

Luton. mHE borough of Luton is situated 18 miles S.E. of
JL Bedford. It has a population of 22,000, and the assess-
ment is £75,070. Manufactures, straw hats and bonnets.
Tlie baths were erected by the Local Goyemment Board,
and comprise a first and second-class swimming bath,
each 60 feet in length ; S first and 3 second-class warm
baths^ and 2 shower baths*

Tlie expenditure has excieoJed the receipts £619 during
the four years the baths have been opened. Hiey have either
been worked at a very great loss, or a considerable
sum expended in alterations and additions must be
included in the working expenses. Luton is a very
healthy town> and although baths for the people at large
are essential for sanitary purposes, they are not so much
required her6 as in towns where the occupations of the
inhabitants are of a less cleanly nature.

Chap. IIL] 49

Bebkshire.

Area of the oounty, 563,968 acres; population in 1871| 226,268.

The borough is situated on the Kennett, 15 miles S.W. ^^^^^^^T-

of lleuJing. It was formerly famous for woollen manu-

factures, but now little is done besides corn grinding and

malting. It is in the midst of a rich agricultural district^

and is one of the smallest towns which has adopted the

Bath Act ; the assessment is £20,822, and the population

is 6602. There are two baths, which cost £300, and tho

site is held on lease for ninety-nine years from tho

Charity Trustees, at £1 per annum. The baths were

opened in 1870 ; their cost has been entirely repaid from

the receipts and other sources, although no charge is made

at one bath, it being free. The receipts since date of

opening exceed the expenditure by £160, and after paying

expenses the excess is applied in aid of the rates. This

presents a striking and gratifying contrast in the

financial result to Luton. Although both are healthy

towns^ and their labouring classes healthfully occupied, it

also indicat.es that baths are appreciated by agricultural

communities, a class hitherto almost totally unprovided

with such accommodaton.

S. JOHNSON.

■t

Cheshire.

Area of the oounty, 691,752 acres ; population in 1871, 539,785.

OEESTEB.

Baths opened January 11th, 1850. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths JS1,135 \

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 900

Heceipts since date of opening ... 1,120

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 1,468

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 848

Accomt$ made up to August, 1875.

J. WALKEK.

50 [Chap. IIL

Chester. Tliis ancient city is sitnated 16 miles S.W. from Liver-
pool. It has a population of 35^000/ and the assessment
is £124,129. Shipbuilding is carried on to a large extent^
and it has a considerable export trade in cheese, cast iron,
coal, and copper plates.

The baths cover an area of 342 yards, and comprise 3
first-class, 2 second-class, and 1 third-class baths, with a
room for shower baths.

The buildings were erected by public subscription, and,
on the adoption of the Bath Act in 1850, the council pur-
chased them from the subscribers for £700, and expended
£200 more, but the total cost appears to be £1135. Tlie
expenditure exceeds the receipts £348, and the original
debt on the establishment is unpaid. Seeing the baths have
been in the hands of tlje Corporation nearly sixteen years,
it is difficult to believe that the financial return for the
whole period has been rendered correctly. Mr. Walker,
who sends the information, is responsible for the accuracy
of the figures. The baths have been very meagrely
patronized, consequently the people of Chester must be
very dirty. The establishment is small for the size of
the town, 'but large enough considering the support it
has received.

MACCLESPIELD.

Baths opened by the Gorporatiozi in 1870. (Sitp Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths - ..< ••• ... £350

Keceipts since date of opening ,,, 819

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 1,003

Eequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 184

Accounts made up to August 1875.

J. MAY.

Chap. IILJ 61

The borongli of MaocleBfield is sitnated on the river Maccios-
fiollen, 18 miles S.& from Manchester. It has a popula-
tion of 35,5709 and the assessment is £75,960. The
manufaetnres are chiefly cotton and silk fabrics. The
area of the baths is 755 superficial yards, they comprise
8 first-class 13 second-class baths, and 2 vapour baths.

The buildings were erected seventeen years agolby public
subscription^ but five years ago were handed over to the
Ooi'poration ; the purchase money, £350, was paid by
the Duke of Westminster. The expenditure has exceeded
the receipts £184 during the five years the baths have been
worked by the Corporation. No pains have been spared
here by philanthropists to make the poor inhabitants
" wash and be clean," but the financial result shows that
this kindness has not been properly appreciated.

STOOKPOBT.
Baths opened June, 1859. (Site Freehold.)

m

Original cost of building baths £\,600

Eeceipts since date of opening 2,868

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... ... 5,057

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency 2,689

Aeeounti made up to Auguit, 1875.

W. HYDE.

The borough of Stockport, the largest town in Cheshire, gtockport.

is situated on the Mersey, 6 miles S.E. of Manchester.

It has a population of 53,000^ and the assessment is

£170,000. Manufactures : woollen, cotton, and silk

fabrics, machinery, brass and iron goods^ brushes,

spindles, and shuttles. The baths are small, onlycover-

ing an area of 519 square yards, and comprise 4 first-

class, 4 second-class, a family bath, and a swimming

bath 50 by 33 feet. This establishment has been worked

at a loss; the accounts show that the original cost has

E 2

Derby.

52 [Chap. III.

been paid, but the expenditure exceeds the receipts £2689.
It is quite possible it includes payment on account of the
loan, which should have been kept distinct from the
working expenses. The occupations and dwellings of
the labouring classes of Stockport are such as ought to
make baths and washhouses very desirable; but seeing
the small establishment has been poorly patronized,
corporal cleanliness is not so much appreciated as it might
be, consistent with the laws of health, and a favourable
reduction of the rate of mortality, which is generally
high.

Derbyshire.

Area of the county, 561,702 acres ; population in 1871, 324,900.

DEBB7.

Baths opened in 1858. (Site Freehold of the Corporation.)

Original cost of baths... £6,000

Haised from rates for payment of loan and interest .., ... 2,i00

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 3,800

Beceipts siQce date of opening %.. ... 6,633

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... ... 7,381

Bequired from the rates to make up deficiency in working

expenses ... ... ... ••• ... ••• ... ... iio

Accounts made up to end of financial year, 1875.

JOS. JONES.

Derby, the chief town in the county, is situated on the
Derwent, 35 miles N.E. of Birmingham. It has a popu-
lation of 62,333, and the assessment is £184,759. Manu-
factures: silk and cotton fabrics, hosiery, ribbons, lace,
iron, porcelain, lead pipes, shot, white and red lead,
soap, &c.

The buildings occupy an area of 1025 square yards, and
comprise 30 baths and 2 shower baths. The accommo-

Chap. III.] 53

dation provided is described as being very complete ; the
premises were formerly an old town house^ but converted
into baths and offices bv the Corporation. The Urban
sanitary authority pay an annual rental of £50 for the
offices^ and there is a residence for the manager. The
baths are all on the ground floor. They have not paid
financially, there being a deficit of £748 in seventeen
years. M. T. Bass, Esq., M.P., presented his consti-
tuents with free swimming baths^ he no doubt saw the
defect in not having them provided by the Corporation,
and conferred this boon upon the people.

Dbvonshirb.

Area of county, 1,643,343 acres ; population in 187l> 606,102.

PLYUOXTTH.

Baihs opened in 1856. (Site Freehold).

Original cost of building baths £4,000

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 2,400

Amouiit of loan remaining uupaid ,\ 1,600

Heceipts since date of opening ... , 3,087

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 4,076

Required from rates to make up deficiency of working expenses 989
Aieounta made up to March 25th, 1876.

A. MARTIN.

This borough, on account of its docks and harbour, is one Plymouth
of the most important maritime places in the kingdom. It
is situated at the head of Plymouth Sound, and has a
population of 70,000, and assessment of £175,120. Manu-
factures: sailcloth, ropes, glass, soap, starch, &c. There are
foundries for forging anchors, and the victualling establish-
ments of the dockyard, are on a very large scale.

54 [OiiAP, IIL

Tho baths were established in 1858 bypnvate enterprise
but transferred in 1856 to the Local Board of Health to
whom they now belong. There are 23 baths provided,
which have at no time proved remunerative, and for fifteen
months previons to October, 1874, were let rent free;
since that time they have been relet at £40 per annum,
the sanitary authority spending a considerable sum in
repairs, I suppose to make them worth £40 a year. The
expenditure exceeds the receipts £989. It is presumed the
returns are made up to the date the baths were let, and
although established twenty years ago, nearly one-third of
the original loan remains to be paid. It is melancholy to see
this result, and difficult to understand how it arises if the
baths are efiicient and conveniently situated. It may be
the Corporation do not take sufficient interest iji corporal
cleanliness, as judging from other towns with a similar
population these baths ought to be highly appreciated.

Durham.

Area of the county, 7S4,401 acres; populatioxi in 187lf 742,205.

Baths opened August, 1855. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of huildinghaths ... ... £6,287

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 5,675

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 4,454

Beceipts since date of opening 4,441

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 11,207

Kequired from rates to make up deficieocj in working expenses 6,766
Accounts made up to September, 1875.

FREDERICK S. BRUNTQN.

Durham. This episcopal city is situated on the river Wear,
15 miles S. from Newcastle-on-Tyne ; it has a population
of 14,406, and the assessment is £38,560. Manufactures :
woollens, hats, paper, leather, iron and brass goods. Tlio

Chap. IIL] 55

area of the baildings is 1530 square yards. There are
6 first-class and 10 second-class men's warm baths, 4
women's second-class baths, 2 swimming baths, 5 shower
baths and 1 vapour bath ; and 19 washing tubs.

The money for the erection of tlie baths was borrowed
from Loan Commissioners, George Hudson, Esq., of Sunder-
land and the executors of the late B. Davison, Esq.* Only
£1833 appears to have been paid off. The expenditure
exceeds receipts £6766 during the twenty years the baths
have been in existence ; this is a large amount upon such
a small assessment, and shows a great want of manage-
ment or appreciation of the benefits of the baths by the
population.

OATB0HSAD.

Baths opeoed Februaiy, 18^5. (Site iFreeliold.)

Original cost of building baths £5,685

Total amounts raised from rates for principal and interest ... 4,970

Receipts since date of opening ... 7,142

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 7,647

Baised from rates to make up deficiency in working expensea ... 505
Accounts made up to December Zltt, 1875.

J. W. 8WINBURNK

The borough of Gateshead is a snbnrb of Newcastle- Gateshead
on-Tyne, with which it is connected by a bridge over the
Tyne. It has a population of 48,627, and assessment of
£90,537. Manufactures : glass^ soap, paper, and cordage,
and there are extensive iron and coal works and docks for
shipbuilding. Many skilled mechanics and others reside
here whose occupation is on the other side of the river ;
nevertheless it is a grim, smoky, and dirty neighbourhood,
rendering washing appliances very desirable and necessary
for health and cleanliness. The baths have an area of 803
square yards, and comprise 6 first and 12 second-class

* I presume a portion of the loan was borrowed from the Loan Commis*
sioncrs and part uom private individuals.

I

56 [Chap. IIL

men's baths^ 2 first-class and 3 second-class women *s batlis,
and extensive laundries. The original cost has been
entirely repaid ; £2185 was raised from a direct assess-
ment on the rateS; and the remainder - borrowed from the
Public Loan Commissioners for twenty years at 4 per cent.
The baths and laundries were let by the Corporation from
May 23rd, 1868, to September 9th, 1871 : during these
years no accounts are furnished. Considering the time the
Corporation have worked the baths the small deficit of
expenditure over the receipts is a very trifling matter when
compared with the great boon the establishment has been
to the community.

It is difficult to understand why the authorities of this
borough let the baths for three years, as the financial results
show that they have been appreciated.

STOOKTON-OK-TEES.

Baths opened Jonei 1859. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths J^3,000

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 8,960

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 450

Keceipts since date of opening 4,536

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 4,550

Required from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 14

Accounts made up to April, 1876.

GEORGE HARRISON.

Stockton- This borough is situated on the Tees, 18 miles S.E. from
on- ees, pyj-ijjjjjj^ j^ has a population of 36,000, and assessment of
£98,796. Manufactures : sail cloth, earthenware^ damask^
Diaper and Huckaback linens^ and there are boiler
factories, iron works, rope walks, large dry docks and
yards for shipbuilding. An extensive foreign and coast
trade is also c<nrried on.

The baths have an area of 1120 yards and comprise 2
first and 2 second-class men's baths, 1 first-class and
2 second-class women's baths, and a swimming bath^

Chap. HI] 67

48 by 26 feet. Tlie loan was borrowed from Fablic Works
Loan Commissioners, at 5 per cent., repayable by twenty
instalments of £150 each, and only three remain unpaid.
These baths have been opened seventeen years, and, having
paid their way> the financial results are satisfactory.

STJNDBBLAND.

Baths oponodi Hendon Boad, 1851. Halgarth Square, 1855. High

Street, 1860. (Sites Freehold.)

OrigiDal cost of building baths £18,800

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 7,180

Amount of loans remaining unpaid 6,620

Beceipts since date of opening • 42,009

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... .43,215

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 1,206
Aeeountt made up to Auauit, 1875.

JOnN H. BROWN.

This borough and seaport is situated near the mouth of gmj^^j..
the Wear, on the North Sea, 13 miles N.E. from Durham, ^^^
it is connected with the town of Monkwearmouth on the
opposite side of the river by an iron bridge of one arch.
Manufactures : flint and bottle glass, earthenware, cop*
peras, coal tar, cordage, chain cables, sail-cloth and
chemicals. Shipbuilding is carried on to a great extent.
Coal is the chief export. It is much frequented by visitors
during the summer months for the sake of sea-bath-
ing. The population of the borough is 104,400^ and the
assessment £300,000. It has three bath establishments—
Hendon Iload> covering an area of 975 square yards, and
containing 6 first, and 8 second-class baths ; Halgarth
Square, covering an area of 794 square yards, and con-
taining 4 first and 8 second-class baths ; High Street,
covering an area of 1360 yards, and containing 6 first and
15 second-class baths, and a spacious swimming bath; the
largest part of the area is occupied by washing stalls, 184
in number. The bathers average 45,160 yearly. The

58 [Chap. IH.

expenditure exceeds the receipts £1206 in twenty-four
years. The nianagement must have been good and eco-
nomical, considering the borough has three small bathing
establishments, situated in difFerent parts of the town,
that necessarily augment the working expenses at least 25
per cent., which would more than absorb the excess of
expenditure over the receipts, if there was only one
establishment : therefore the financial results show that the
baths are appreciated in this seaport, which presents a
striking contrastto some other towns where the occupa-
tions of the inhabitants are similar.

Glamorgakshire.

Areaof Uie county, 606,356 acres ; population in 1871> 405,698.

Baths opened May, 1873. (Site Freeliold.)

Original cost of batlifl £3,805

Beceipts since date of opening 1,400

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 1,469

llequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses... 64

Aceounts made up to jiuoust 31, 1875.

F. R. GREENHILli.

Cardiff. Cardiff is a parliamentary borough and seaport in

Wales, fiituated on the Taff, 11 miles S.W. from Newport.
It possesses most magnificent docks, and is the principal
shipping tow'n on the western coast. The exports are
chiefly coal and iron. It has a population of 60,000, and
the assessment is £150,000.

The baths cover an area of 1705 square yards, and
comprise 5 first and 5 second-class warm baths, a Turkish
Bath, used on certain days as a second-class bath, a first
and second-class swimming bath.

The baths originated in a private speculation, but did
not succeed financially, as shown by the accounts, from

Chap. IILJ 59

May 1, 1866, to November, 1871. The total receipts
from the Turkish Bath were £1207 18a., while the
expenses^ including interest on mortgi^e, law expenses^
and every item of outlay, were £1219 6s. 7d. ; the loss

' during the 5 J years being £11 ,88. 7d. During the
same term, £778 3s. Id. was received for warm baths,
and £862 14s. lOd. was expended in the same, the loss
being £84 lis. 9d., which is much greater in proportion
than that on the Turkish Bath.

Since these baths have been purchased by the Corpora-
tion, they are in a better financial condition, being free
from rates and taxes, and the cost of water is less than
one-half. During 1873 they were attended by 23,694
persons, the income was £506 6s. 7d., and expenditm*e
£374 6s. 9d. The interest of the purchase money,
repairs^ painting, and furniture make the expenditure
equal to £ol2, showing that the loss had been only £6
on tlie year. Thus, it will be seen, there is a prospect

. not only of the Cardiff baths paying for tliemselves, but
albwing of a fair dividend.

Gloucestershire/

Area of the county, 715,776 acres ; population in 1871, 488,700.

BSISTOZi.

Baths opened on the Weir, in 1850. Mayor's Paddock, 1873.' (Sites

Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths ... £21,600

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 10,138

Amount of loan remaining unpaid ... 11,945

Beceipts since date of opening 16,781

Expenditure (working ezp^ues) smce date of opening... .•« 21,611

Required fromrates to make up deficiency in working expenses... 4|730

Accounts made up to August 1875. JOHN HAKFOHD.

Bristol a city, borough and seaport, 112 miles W. from Bristol.
London situated on the river Avon which is here joined by

60 [Chap. HL

the Frome. It is one of the most ancient and opulent
cities in England and has long been engaged in a very
extensive foreign trade, chiefly with the West Indies,
Ireland, and the United States. About a mile west of the
city is Clifton hot wells, a suburb with about 21,000 inhabi-
tants, a place much resorted to. Bristol has a population
of 182,000 and the assessment is £625,256. There are
two %'ery large bath establishments covering an area of
2080 square yards. The baths situated on <' The Weir '*
contain 16 first and 32 second-class men's baths^ 6 first
and 10 second-class women's baths, and 35 washing com-
partments. The second establishment situated at Mayor's
Paddock, opened in 1873, contains 15 first and 34 second-
class men's baths, 5 first and 10 second-class women's
baths ; 2 swimming baths, each 37 by 22 feet, containing
25,000 gallons, 64 washing compartments, and 2 galleries
for ironing.

The expenditure exceeds the receipts £4730, so that in a
financial view they have not paid, but there were no swim-
ming baths before 1873 ; these increase the receipts very
much; and will no doubt in time cover all expenses.

Hampshibe.

Area of the county, 105,291 acres ; population in 1871, 526,142.

WINCHESTEB.

Winches- Is a city and borough situated on a hill gradually sloping
to the river Itchin, 60 miles S.W. from London. It has
very little trade, but the Cathedral and college ensure to
it the residence of a large number of clergy and their
families. The population is 14,705, and tho assessment
£63,156.

Chap. III.] 61

Tho Bath Act was adopted in 1873^ and the authorities
are not yet in a position to furnish a financial statement of
accounts. The only information received is given in the
following letter : —

2ith January, 1876.

Sm. -* The infonnation I can give you with reference to the Warm
Baths here would, I am afraid, be of little use to you so far as the cost is
concerned. Tho Baths themselves were supplied by Jennings, of Lambeth,
and cost £9 10s. each. There are nine of them, and the pipes, furnace >
and tanks cost me something like ;£200. The building, the divisions of
the Bath rooms, the fittings of the Baths, aU the woodwork, floors, gas
fittings, W.C., were all done partly by builders and partly by my own
workmen, that I really do not know at the present moment what they did
cost.

I handed the Baths over, when completed, to a Working Committee
and know nothing myself of the Working Expenses, but will hand over
your letter to the Committee,* who will no doubt answer your inquiry.

Yours fiuthfully,

Richard Moss.
Northgate, Winchester.

Kent.

Area of the county (extra metropolitan), 978,08S acres ; population m

1871, 629,126.

0ANTEBBUB7

Is a borough and city, and the county town, situated on Cantci>
the Stour, 50 miles S.E. from London. The dignity of ^'''■^'
being tho metropolitan archiepiscopal see of all England
belongs to it. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the first
peer of the realm and takes precedence next the royal

* The Committee were never polite enough to reply to my communica-
tion. I hope their silence has been owing to pressure in the direction of
advancing the ma* hinery Mr. Moss so generously put in motion for the
comfort and well-being of his poorer brethren.

63 [Chap, III.

family and crowns the sovereign in Westminster Abbey.

It has a population of 20,691, and an assessment of
£54,206. Considering the importance of this city, it being
the seat of the Archbishop, and its having a large number
of highly cultivated resident gentry and clergy, and seeing
that " cleanliness is next to godliness," it would have
reflected more credit upon the authoi-ities had they given
the poor people an opportunity of washing themselves.

Mr. B. W. Flint officially informs us that '^ the. Bath
Act was adopted some years ago, and some schemes have
been attempted, but none have come to maturity." It
will be seen that the authorities have recognized the
necessity of baths, or they never would have adopted the
Act ; if the same lethargy exists in other sanitary matters
as it does in providing baths, the ratepayers of Canterbury
will remain in the mire a long time.

MAIDSTONE.

Baths opened May 19th, 1852. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths £5,000

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest of original 7,064

Receipts since date of opening 5,999

Expenditure (working expenses) nnce date of opening 11,428

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 5,429
Accounts made up to August, 1875.

G. HOAE.

Maidstono. Is a borough and market town 29 miles S.E. from
London on the Medway, which is navigable here for vessels
of 50 or 60 tons. The principal productions of the neigh-
bourhood are fruit and hops, it is indeed the first hop
market in the kingdom. Its manufactures are felt, paper,
and coarse woollen goods, and there are extensive artillery
barracks in the town.

It has a population of 27,000 and the assessment is

Chap. III.] 63

£106,237. Tlie batlis comprise 3 first and 6 second-class
and 12 third-class men's baths ; 3 first-class and 6 second-
class women's baths^ 2 shower baths, 1 vapour bath and .
a swimming bath 33 by 20 feet. Tlie original cost of
building has been repaid, but the expenditure exceeds
the receipts £5429 ; it may be a part of this has been
applied to pay the loan and interest^ as the sum is exces-
sive considering the total receipts during twenty-three
years have only reached £570 more.

Lancashihe.

Area of the coontjr, 1,307,162 acres ; population in 1871) 2,849,259.

ASHTON-TJNDEB-LTNE.

Baths opened September 6th, 1870. (Site Freehold.)

Originalocst of building baths £17,505

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 858

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 16,647

Beceipt^ since date of opening ... 3,562

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 8,744

Hequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 5,182
Accounts made up to Augutt ZUt, 1875.

HENEY GARTSIDE.

Ashton-under-Lyne is a borough and flourishing Ashton-
market town, situated on the river Tame, 6 miles east Lyne'"
from Manchester, the population is 37,389 and the assess-
ment £109,305. Manufactures, principally cotton, but
there are woollen, silk, and hat factories ; besides iron and
brass founding, brick making, machine making, bleaching,
dyeing, and basket making which are carried on to a con*
siderable extent. It is immediately connected with and
surrounded by Stalybridge, Mossley, Hyde, Dukinfield,
an^^ rther places, which have a united population of over

64 [Chap. III.

55,000, all of which are principally occupied in the cotton
manufacture and machine making. The manor of Ashton-
under-Lyne alone contains upwards of 170 factories and
80 coal pits. The occupations of the inhabitants being
necessarily of a dirty character, and the running water of
the vicinity polluted by the refuse from factories and other
works, they had no other means of cleanliness but the
domestic basin previous to the establishment of the Baths.

The baths are erected under the Ashton Improvement
Act, of 1849, hut were not opened until 1870 ; they <30ver
an area of 1800 square yards, and comprise 6 first-class,
and 9 second-class baths ; a large swimming bath for men,
100 by 40 feet, and one for women, 27 by 15 feet ; and a
range of Turkish or Hot-air Baths, judiciously arranged
and cheaply administered, thus promoting this most
efficient and agreeable mode of bathing.

The expenditure exceeded the receipts £5182 in about
five years, which appears excessive ; but it is possible
a portion of this sum has been placed to the working
expenses instead of the loan account.

BLACKBXJBN.

Baths opened July llth, 1868. (Site Freohold.)

Original cost of building baths £5,174

Beceipts since date of opening 2,472

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening .^ ... 4,448
Hequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 1,976
Aeeounta made up to June Z^th, 1875.

W. E. L. GAINE.

Black- Blackburn is a large and important manufacturing

town and borough, 20 miles N.W. from Manchester, and
25 S.E. from Lancaster. The manufactures are muslins
and cotton goods, and there is a considerable quantity of
coal and lime in the neighbourhood. The population is
82,920, and the assessment amounts to £229,492. The

Chap. IIL] 65

baths have an area of 973 square yards, and contain 12
men's first-class and 10 second-class baths^ 7 women's
first-class baths, and a plunge bath 60 by 33 feet. The
cost of the buildings was borrowed from the Public Works
Loan Commissioners at 3^ per cent, repayable in thirty
years. The expenditure has exceeded the receipts £1976
in a period of eight years — a result not very encouraging.

Baths opened May, 1864. (Site Leasehold.)

Cost of building £2,937

Heceipts since date of opening 3,884

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 1^,365

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 1,481
Accounts made up to March, 1876.

H. GRUNDY.

Bury is a Parliamentary Borough situated on the river Bury.
Irwell^ 8^ miles N. from Manchester. Its manufactures
consist of cotton and woollen goods, and machinery.
There are bleaching and calico-printing establishments,
and some extensive iron works and coal mines in
the neighbourhood.

The population is 43,000, and the assessment £160,408.

The baths were commenced by a company, but only
one-third of the necessary funds were raised when they
were handed over to the local authorities. The cost of the
buildings was paid from the profits arising on gas, and has
not to be repaid, but they are subject to a ground-rent of
£30 per annum. They occupy an area of 2500 square
yards, and contain 10 first-class and 10 second-class warm
baths, 2 private baths, a first and second-class swimming
bath, a vapour bath, and a Turkish Bath.

The expenditure exceeded the receipts £1481 in twelve
years, a result difficult to account for, as the number of
bathers for one year ending March 31, 1876, was 18,248.

F

C6 [Chap. in.

LIVEBPOOL.

PisB Head (Salt Watss.)

Baths opened in 182S. (Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths £27,722

Keceipts since date of opening 73,938

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 64|645

Aee^unts made up to Auguit ZUt, 187d.

GoBNWALLis Street.

Baths opened May^ 1851. (Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths £18,553

Keceipts since date of opening 60,923

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 61,113

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 190

Accounts made up to August 31«^, 1875.

Mabgabbt Street.

Baths opened June 13, 1863, and the extension in 1868. (Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths £11,191

Beceipts since date of opening 15,428

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 12,225

Accounts made up to August Z\st, 1875.

Paul Street.
Baths opened November, 1846. (Freehold.)

Original cost of builidng baths £8,470

Beceipts since date of opening 23,572

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening... ... 31,832

Bt quired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 8,260
Accounts made up to August Zlstf 1875.

Steble Street.

Baths opened April 1874. (Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths £14,500

Beceipts since date of opening ... ... ... ... ... 1,779

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 1,949

Bequired from rates to make up' deficiency in working expenses 170
Accounts made up to August 31«^, 1876.

Chap. III.] 67

Faedbbick Staebt.
Baths opened in 1842. Kebuilfc in 18J4. (Freehold.)

•

Original cost of building baths £4,350

Receipts since date of opening 12,058

Exp andi tare (working expenses) since date of opening 23,987

Required from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 1 1,929
Accounts made up to August dltt, 1875,

J. KAYNER.

Liverpool is a borough and one of the principal trading LiverpooL
and seaport towns in the kingdom, situated on the Mersey
about 4 miles from the Irish Sea. It is about 5 miles in
length and 2 J miles in breadth, its docks and basins have an
aggregate area of more than 300 acres. The trade is most
extensive, and it is to this rather than to manufactures
that it owes its importance ; it has, however, sugar re-
fineries, rope walks, glass works, brass and iron foundries,
soda works, manufactories for watches and jewellery,
and shipbuilding is carried on to a large extent. Nearly
all the raw cotton imported into this country is landed
here. It has a population of over 500,000, and the
assessment reaches £2,248,277. It was the first town
which established public baths from money raised from
the rates.

The baths at the Pier Head were opened nearly half
a century ago, as Salt Water Baths, long before the
Act of Parliament came into force ; the situation is well-
chosen, as vast numbers of workmen are employed in
the neighbourhood. The area is 3825 square yards. It
contains 13 warm baths, including 2 vapour baths; a
first-class swimming bath, 46 by 27 feet; and a second-
class, 39 by 27 feet. Charges vary from 3d. to 2s. 6d.
The cost of building was £27,772.

The second establishment was opened in 1842, and
rebuilt in 1854. It is situated in Frederick Street ; the

F 2

68 [Chap. III.

outlay for building was £4350, but it is not stated in
the information supplied whether this includes the cost of
rebuilding. The area is 240 square yards. It is now
only used as washhouses, and contains 60 washing stalls
and 180 tubs. The charge on Mondays is Id. per hour,
other days l^d; per hour, and closed on Saturdays.
The expenditure has exceeded the receipts by £11,929, a
result attributable no doubt to its exclusive use as a
washhouse.

Paul Street Baths were opened in 1846, and occupy
1028 square yards. There are 45 warm (including
4 vapour) baths, 2 swimming baths, 27 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft.
9 in., and 21 ft. 3 in. by 17 ft. 8 in. Charges Id. cold to
Is. vapour. It has also 88 washing tubs ; charges, 6d. per
day, including tub, dolly, and maiden. The building cost
£8470. The expenditure exceeds the receipts £8260.

Cornwallis Street Baths were opened in 1851 and cost
£18,553. The area is 1692 square yards; it has 63 warm
(including 3 vapour) baths ; 3 swimming baths ; a first-
class, 57 by 40 feet 9 inches ; a second-class, 42 by 27 feet ;
and a third 40 by 27 feet. Charges, Id. cold to 2s. vapour.
The expenditure exceeds the receipts £190.

Margaret Street Baths were opened in 1863 and
extended in 1868; they cost £11,181. The area is
1849 square yards. It has 25 warm (including 4 vapour)
baths ; 2 swimming baths, 67 ft. 6 in, by 34 ft. each. The
receipts have exceeded the expenditure £3203.

Steble Street Baths are more recent, having been opened
in 1874, showing that the authorities are not weary of
their work. The area is 2477 square yards, and the
buildings cost £14,500 ; it contains 40 warm baths and
3 swimming baths, one 50 ft. by 35 ft. 9 in., one 52 ft. by
37 ft. 9 in., and one 40 ft. by 28 ft. 9 in. Charges, Id.
cold to Is. warm. It has also 54 washing tubs — charge,

Chap. III.] 69

Id. per hour, and if more than one hour, ^d. is charged
including the first Id. The expenditure exceeds the
receipts £170.

The total cost of building the six baths was £84,8H6,
and the expenditure has exceeded the receipts by £8053.

OLDHAK.

fiuthfl opened July, 1854. (Freehold.)

Oiigioal cost of building baths £4,900

Total amount raised from rates (principal and interest) 4,000

Receipts since date of opening 7,041

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 14,392

Bequlred from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 7*351
Accounts made up to September, 1875.

H. BOOTH.

The borough of Oldham is situated on the Medlock, Oldham,
near its source, 7 miles N.E. from Manchester. The
manufactures are fustians, cotton goods, iron and brass
ware, machinery, hats and silks. The population is
100,000, and the assessment £309,250 ; there is also a
large population immediately surrounding the town,
which might be expected to use the baths, as well as
those within its limits. The area of the buildino^s is 1015
square yards, but, including the yard, is 2600 square
yards. It contains 3 first, 8 second, and 7 third-class
men's baths ; 2 first, 2 second, and 3 third-class, women's
baths, a vapour bath, and a swimming bath. The original
cost has been paid, £4000 from the rates and £900 from
" The Peel Testimonial Fund." The expenditure exceeded
the receipts £7351 during the twenty-one years the baths
have been established. The operatives in this district
evidently do not appreciate the sanitary value of a
bath.

70 [Chap. III.

PBBSTON.

Baths opened September 1, 1851. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths £11,217

Amount of loan remaining unpaid ; 11,217

Receipts since date of opening 8,808

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 11,947

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 3,139
Accounts made up to Augmt Zlatj 1875.

R. NEWALL,

Preston. The borough of Preston is situated about 15 miles from
the sea, on the river Ribble, and 22 miles S. of Lancaster.
Manufactures, linen and cotton fabrics, and brass and iron
goods. It has a population of 85,427, and the assessment
is £231,445. The baths cover an area of 2186^ superficial
yards, and contain 16 first and 31 second-class men's
baths ; 8 first and 8 second-class women's baths ; a largo
first-class swimming bath, and a small second-class
swimming bath. The building was originally fitted up
as baths and washhouses, but the latter were discontinued
in 1870. None of the original cost has been repaid, and
the expenditure exceeded the receipts £3139 in twenty-
four years.

BOCHDALE.

Baths opened June, 1868.

Original cost of building baths £8,500

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 8,950

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 7,292

Keceipts since date of opening 3,948

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 4,761

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 813

Accounts made up to March, 1876.

Z. MELLOR.

Eochdale. The parliamentary borongh of Rochdale is situated en
the river Roche^ 11 miles N.E. from Manchester. Manu-
factures flannels, kerseys, coarse calicoes, baizes, fustians.

Chap- HI] 71

hats and machinery. It has a population of 44,556, and
the assessment is £287,815. The baths comprise a first
and second-class swimming bath, each 57 by 27 feet, a
third-class swimming bathj 30 by 15 feet ; 7 first and
7 second-class men's baths ; 3 first and 4 second-class
women's baths ; 2 first-class Turkish Baths for men, and a
first class Turkish Bath for women. The swimming baths
are highly appreciated, as the water in the river is polluted
with the refuse from dye works.

Only £1208 has been paid off the loan, and the
expenditure exceeded the receipts £813 during the eight
years they have been in existence.

STALTBBIDGE.

Baths opened May 7th, 1870. (Site Freehold.)

Kecelpts since date of opening ^2,958

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 4,039

Eequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 1,081
Accounts made up to March, 1876.

H. BUCKLEY.

This borough is in the parish of Ashton-under-Lyne, Staly-
and situated on the borders of. Lancashire and Cheshire, '^ ^®*
7 miles TE. from Manchester. Manufactures are princi-
pally cotton fabrics, but woollen goods^ articles in brass
and iron^ and machinery, are also made. It has a popula-
tion of 21,043 and assessment £80,691*

The baths were presented tb the borough by R. Piatt,
Esq., of Stalybridge, and the Corporation spent about
£1000 in making additions. The buildings have an area
of 900 yards, and contain 5 first and 6 second-class baths,
2 swimming baths and a Turkish bath.

The expenditure exceeded the receipts £1081 in about
six years^ a deficit which is rather excessive.

72 [Chap. IIL

LiKCOLKSHIBE.
Atm of oonnty, 1,731,801 acns. Population in 1871, 428,076.

«

OBANTHAM.

Baths opened May, 1854.

Original coat of building baths £1,000

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 950

Heoeipts since date of opening 1,672

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 2,875

Required from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 1,203
AecounU made up to June, 1874.

HENRY BEAUMONT.

Grantham. Grantham is a parliamentary borough, situated on the
river Witham, 23 miles S.W. from Lincoln. The popu-
lation IS 5028, and the assessment^ £44,684.

The bathing establishment comprises 4 first, 4 second,
and 2 third-class baths, and a swimming bath. Up
to the time the accounts were furnished, it appears
that only £50 has been paid off the original loan, and
the expenditure exceeds the receipts £1203 in. twenty
years.

Mr. Beaumont readily supplied me with the information
in 1874, but on July 20th, 1876, he refused, and stated
that *« The information you ask" (which was that he should
merely correct the information previously given, which
appears above, by bringing it down to the date of the
last audit of the borough accounts) *^ not being required
by any Government order, I am not disposed to give it.
There is no objection to your publishing your paper,
omitting this town from it," and on August the 10th, in
reply to a note remonstrating with him, he says, *^ You
must really consider my letter of July 20th final. There

ill

Chap. Ill] 73

is DO desire to have the information yon ask for published,
and you must excuse my answering any further letters
upon the subject." Now it may be true that " there is
no objection to omitting this town," and ^' no desire to
have the information published " on the part of the Town
Clerk, but perhaps there may be burgesses of Grantham
who possess a sufficient amount of public spirit to take a
different view of the matter. These will be annoyed to
find that in consequence of the conduct of their servant,
the general public are precluded from getting complete
information on this question, and I trust some resident
ratepayer will exercise his undoubted rights and obtain the
information for me to embody in a subsequent edition. I
may mention^ however, that an application to the Mayor
fared no better, as that functionary informed me on the
4th of September, that he had ^^ no communication to
make respecting the Grantham Baths."

NOTTIKGHAMSniRE.
Area of the county, 600,421 acres. Population in 1871} 355,404*

IfANSFIELD.

Act adopted 1852. (Site Leasehold.)

Onginal cost of building baths £1,300

Tleceipts since date of opening ... ... 284

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 075

Kequired from rates to make up deficiency 691

B. PARSONS.

Tliis town is situated 14 miles N. from Nottingham on Mansfield,
the borders of Sherwood Forest. Manufactures, cotton

74 (Chap. III.

fabrics, hpsiery and lace, and it has a large trade in
malt. It has a population of 11,000 and the assessment
is £33,419.

The site for the baths was granted by His Grace the
Duke of Portland, at the nominal rental of lOs. per annum.
The original cost of building with interest has been paid
off at the rate of £50 per annum, which, with the
necessary expenses for maintenance, was raised from the
rates.

The receipts being exceedingly small, we presume the
parish authorities could only have retained the manage-
ment of the baths for short time, as they are let rent
free, a circumstance which shows that they are not
sufficiently interested in them to make them popular,
and will account for the present unsatisfactory state of
things. •

Although repeated applications have been made, we have
been unable to obtain more complete returns, not even the
number or quality of the baths and the date they were
opened.

NOTTINGHAM.

Baths opened ISoO. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths * ^4,700

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 4,905

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 4,700

Heceipts since date of opening 1,436 «

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 1,685

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 149
Accounts made up to December SUt, 1855.

S. G. JOHNSON.

Netting The borough of Nottingham, the chief town of the
^*™* county, is situated on a rocky eminence in a line with the

course of the Trent, 13 miles N.E. from Derby. Manu-
factures, silk and cotton stockings, lace for veils and shawls.

Chap. III.] 75

It has also several silk mills, dye-works, wire-works, &c.,
but lace is its great staple^ being the chief centre of this
manafacture. The population is 86,000 and assessment
£i 80,023. The baths occupy an area of 2 acres 8 poles,
and contain 8 first-class, 13 second-class^ and 15 third-
class baths ; 2 first-class, 1 second-class, and 2 third-class
swimming baths. The cost of the building has been
entirely repaid; financially the results are 8ati8factor3^
Since 1855 the baths have been leased to a tenant at £100
per annum.

Nottingham, without doubt, has greater bathing facilities
provided than any other town in the kingdom of its size.
There are open-air baths free of charge, and the charges
for swimming baths are from one halfpenny.

Northumberland.

Area of tho county, 1,290,312 acres; population in 1871, 386,646.

NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE.

Baths opened 1862. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths £7,000

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 10,466

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 1,775

Heceipts since date of opening 16,767

Expenditure sinee date of opening 23,585

Accounts made up to July 3l«^, 1876.

R. S. PHILIPSON.

Newcastle is a borough and river port, and. the chief New-
town in the connty. It is situated on the Tyiie, 14 miles Tyne.
N. of Durham. It has a population of 128,443 and
assessment, £367,442. The manufacture of locomotives, .
tools, and all sorts of railway appliances^ first introduced

76 LChap. IIL

by George Stephenson, Mr. Pease of Darlington, Mr,
Backhouse, and other railway celebrities, have continued
to flourish here, and it has become a great mechanical
centre. "The whole neighbourhood both on the North-
umbrian and Durham side of the river is studded with
iron works and coal pits — the latter supplying Iho vast
consumption of London.

There are two baths establishments — ono situated in
Gallowgate has an area of G52 square yards, and contains
6 first, 8 second-class baths, 2 first and 2 second-class
shower baths ; the second establishment is much larger,
and is situated in the New Eoad, it covers an area of
1033 square yards; it contains 12 first-class and 10 second-
class baths. The expenditure exceeds the receipts £6818,
but I am informed that this includes payment of principal
and interest of loan, so that, financially^ these baths are
very successful.

TYNBMOTJTH.

Baths opened August, 1854. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building haths £4,000

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 6,336

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 2,000

Receipts since date of opening 7,355

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 9,697

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in woiking expenses 2,342
Accounts made up to August ZUt, 1875.

T. G. CLARKE. .

Tyne- f^Q borough of Tynemouth is situated at the mouth of

the Tyne, about 1 mile W. from North Shields, with
which it is united, and included within the limits of tho
borough. It is much resorted to during the summer
months, by all classes from Newcastle and Gateshead, for
pleasure and bathing. The population of the town proper
is inconsiderable^ but^ including North Shields^ is 41,000,

Chap. IIL] 77

and the assessment is £85^965. The baths are conveniently
situated in Church way, and cover an area of 4,699 square
feet, they contain 5 first and 12 second-class baths ; 20
washing stalls and 29 drying closets, the latter are much
used by the residents of the dark, dingy, and dirty streets
in the lower part of the town.

The expenditure exceeded the receipts in twenty-one
years £2342, so that financially these baths have not paid.

Staffordshire.

Area of the county, 752,995 acres ; population in 1871, 877,425.

BILSTOSr.

Baths opened August 6th, 1870.

Original cost of building baths

;£],10O

Total amount raised from rates for priDcIpal and interest ... 379

Amount of loan remaining unpaid ... 917

Receipts since date of opening 489

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 551

Required from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 62
AceounU mad$ up to May^ 1875.

S. D. WASSELL.

Bilston is a large market town and borongh 3 miles Bilston.
S.E, from Wolverhampton. It has large iron works and
numerous manufactories for japanned and enamelled
goods, coarse earthenware, and ironware. The population
is 24,000, and assessment £60,888. The inhabitants
are principally firemen, puddlers, colliers, nailmakers, and
others, whose employment must necessarily be of a dirty
kind, indeed the whole line of country to Wolverhampton,
in one direction, and West Bromwich and Birmingham in
the other, is inhabited by similar classes, rendering the
use of the bath a necessity for cleanliness and health.

78 [Chap. III.

The baths here originated with a company at a time
when the town was most prosperous, and the working-
classes earning fabulous wages, but they did not succeed,
and were sold to the Township Commissioners for £700,
who expended a further sum of £400 for repairs.

The accommodation provided is 6 women's baths and
17 men's baths, and a swimming bath 53 by 27 feet.

The expenditure exceeded the receipts £62 in five years
— a financial result very encouraging under the new
management.

HANLEY.

Baths opened April 16th, 1874. (Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest

Amount of loan remaining unpaid

Receipts since date of opening

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ...
Accounts made up to August ZUt, 1875.

A. CHALLINOR.

.. £10,000

664

.. 9,797

.. 1,117

996

Hanley. The borough of Hanley is situated 2 miles from New-
castle-under-Lyne, and the chief manufactures are earth-
enware and paper. The population is 41,000, and the
assessment £96,790. Adjacent, are other populous towns,
so that probably 100,000 persons might be expected to
resort to these baths. Their pursuits are laborious, and
frequent ablutions are necessary for cleanliness and health.
The men's portion of the bath was opened in April, 1874,
and the women's section, w^hich includes a swimming
bath, was opened in April, 1875. The area is 1400 square
yards. There is a first-class swimming bath, 60 by 29
feet ; a second-class, 56 by 27 feet, 4 men's first-class, 1
second-class, and 6 third-class baths, 3 vapour baths, a
Turkish Bath used as first, second, and third-class at

Chap. III.] 79

different times of tbe day ; 2 first, 2 second, and 2 third-
class women's warm baths, and a women's swimming
bath, 20 by 16 feet. During the year there has been
upwards of 40,000 bathers. The receipts exceeded the
expenditure £121 in little more than a year. These baths
are very promising and bid fair to be a great success.

SUKRET.

Area of county (extra metropolitan), 451,027 acres. Population in I87I9

365,27?.

CROYDON.
Baths opened June, 1866. (Site Leasehold. )

Original cost of building baths £5,612

Beceipts since date of opening 4,204

Expenditure (working expense) since date of opening 5,078

Kequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 874

Aeeounta made up to March 25th, 1876.

K. J. CHEESWRIGHT.

Croydon is a market town 11 miles S. of London; it Croydom
has a reputation for being healthy, owing to a good water
supply, excellent drainage^ and its salubrious situation.
The population is computed to bo 55,662 and the assess-
ment, £350,526.

The baths are erected on a site held on lease for 999
years, at an annual rent of £35. The area is 432 square
yards. There are 13 private baths, a swimming and a
shower bath.

The original loan is to be repaid in 30 years, and beara
interest at 5 per cent. The expenditure exceeded the
receipts £874 in 10 years.

80 [Chap. III.

Sussex.

Area of the county, 948,257 acres. Population in 1871» 420,910.

BRIGHTON.
Baths opened October 29tli, 1869.

Original cost of building baths £5,500

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 586

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 5,395

Hcceipts since date of opening 2,636

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 2,657

Hequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 21
Aecotmts made up to Augtist Zlttf 1875.

J. A. FEEEMAN.

Brighton. Brighton is a parliamentary borough, and the fasliion-
able watering place of England ; and is 47 miles South
of London.

The establishment contains 39 baths, which are now
undergoing enlargement at a cost of £4000. A series of
loans were raised at the commencement amounting, in the
aggregate, to £5,500, of which a very small amount has
been repaid. They were opened in October, 1869, since
which time only £586 has been raised from the rates.
The receipts and expenditure nearly balance. The popula-
tion exceeds 100,000, and the assessment amounts to
£459,331. There are 8 men's first-class, and 15 second-
class baths ; 1 women's first-class, and 8 second-class
baths; 2 shower and 2 vapour baths, and a private
bath.

It must be borne in mind that Brighton is an excep-
tional town, there being great facilities for bathing in the
the sea, free of charge; it has, besides, numerous and
extensive private baths of every description.

Chap- TIT.] 81

Wabwickshibe.

Area of oounty, 610,687 acres. Population in 187l| 630,472.

BIBMINGHAIC.

KaiYT SrauT.

Baths opened in 1849. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of huilding baths £23,000

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 6,050

Beceipts since date of opening 89,166

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 40,816

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 1,660

Woodstock Stbebt.

Baths opened in 1860. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of huilding baths ... ... ... ... ...£12,000

Amount of loan remaining unpaid •« 6,000.

Beceipts since date of opening 9,636

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 11,617

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 1,981

KOBTHWOOD StBSET.

Baths open^ in 1862. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths £11,600

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 10,600

Beceipts since date of opening 16,978

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... ... 14,669

AecQtmtt made up to December diet, 1876.

E. J. HAYES.

Birmingham is a parliamentary borough, returning three Binning-
members to Parliament, and is one of the principal manu* ^**"*
facturing towns in England, about 99 miles N.W. from
London. It has a population of 343,787^ and its assess-
ment is £1,284,167.

a

81 [Chap. IIL

Hutton, in his history "df Ute town, gives some curious
cIescrif>tiQaB of the way in which workmen were sullied
by the numerous trades tl>ey followed, in his time ; he is
especially graphic in describing how tlie operations of the
brass founders told upon them, and it is well known that
every trade leaves its peculiar mark upon the craftsmen*
This great centre of industry is not unhealthy, the
suburbs are salubrious, especially the neighbourhood of
Edgbaston ; which is attributed to Its being built on
the sandstone rock, and it is in consequence naturally
dry.

The first bath establishment wxs opened in- Kent Street,
and covers an area of 3366 yards. It contains 29 first
and 24 second-class men's baths, 6 first and 7 second-class
women's batlw, 2 Jewish baths, a women's plunging bath,
and a first and second-class men's swimming batl)» lotd
washhonses for thirty-two persons.

The Bath in Woodstock Street has Tin area of 2200
square yards^ and contains 16 first and 16 second-class
men's baths, 6 first and 8 second-class women's baths, a
plunge bath for wonteoi^ .and first and second-class swim-
ming baths for men.

The Bath in Northwood Street. has an area of 2300
square yards, and contains 12 first and 13 seconJ-cIass
men's baths, 6 first and 6 second-class women's batlis, a
plunge bath for women^ and a first an<l second-claes
swimming bath for men.

The Corporation, in 1872, purchased a site for another
suite of baths in Shepcote Street at a cost of £2500.

Tliere has been great judgment exercised in selecting
the sites of the several baths — the neighbourhoods are not
the very lowest, yet they are convenient even for the
humbler class of operatives. The higher-priced baths are
much used by both sexes.

Coat. UL] 83

Baths opmed 1862. (Site JE^i^ehold.)

Original coit of building baths •• ••• X5,C00

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 5,0t)t)

Eeceipts since date of opening ... 4,815

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening ... ... 8,01B

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 3,201
AeeounU made up to August, 1875.

J. BROWETT.

Coventry is a borough 18 miles S.E. from Birmmghnni, Coventiy.
long fkmoQB for tlie mannfncture of 'watches, but still more
so for that of ribbons, and it is an important militarj
depot and thoroughfare. The poptrkction is 41^000, and
the assessment £141,162.

The baths have an area of 1,500 square yards, and
contain 4 first and 9 second-class men's baths ; 2 first and
4 second-class women's baths ; a first-class swimming
bath 60 by 30 feet, and a second-class swimming bath 60
by 60 feet.

None of the original loan has been I'opaid, and tlie
expenditure exceeded the receipts £3201 in seventeen
years.

The institution was opened in 1852, but the authorities
report that the borough accounts are not in a condition to
enable them to supply the information previous to 1858 ;
no reason is given, but the accounts must have been
audited by the Government Accountant, it is tlierefore
presumed the books have been destroyed.

c 2

84 fCiiAP. in.

WORCESTERSHIRK.
Area o^ the county, 434,825 acres. Population in 1871| 830,276.

KIDDERMINSTER.
Baths opened 1851. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of bmlding baths X3,325

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ... 4,575

Receipts since date of opening , 1,790

Expenditure since date of Opening... 3,272

Required from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 1,482

Accounts made up to September 1, 1875.

JAMES MORTON.

Kidder- The borougli cf Kidderminster is situated on the river
mins ci. gijQUj.^ |jy which it is divided into two unequal parts, 15
miles N. from Worcester. It was^ long famous for the
manufacture of broadcloth, linsey-wolsoy, woollen and
worsted draperies, and flowered stuffs. But carpet manu-
facture has proved of the greatest importance to the town,
and has greatly assisted in raising it to its present wealth
and prosperity. It has a population of 19,416, and the
assessment is £53,028.

The baths contain 4 first and 8 second-class men's baths,
2 first and 2 second-class women's baths; a swimming
bath, a plunge bath, and a Turkish Bath.

The authorities of this borough were among the first to
avail themselves of this aid to civilization. The original
loan has been entirely repaid, but the expenditure exceeded
the receipts £1482 in twenty-four years, .

WORCESTER.

The << Act "was adopted in 1843. Baths and Washhouses are not
provided, but there is a public bathing place on the river with a bath-
ing bar, and attendant, which costs about £5Z per annum.

THOS. SUNHALL,

Worcester The ancient city of Worcester is a parliamentary
borough and county town, beautifully situated on the E.
bank of the Severn, 25 miles S.W. from Birmingham.

Chap. Ill] 85

Mannfactures gloves, lace^ porcelain , leather, spirits,
British wines, vinegar, horsehair, cloth, boots and shoes,
nails, artificial manures, cast-iron goods, and turned wares,
and has a large trade in hops and corn. The population
is 33,221, and the assessment, £143,243.

Yorkshire*

Area of the county 3,702,834 acres. Population in 1871, 2,396,6<}9.

BABNSLEY.

Baths opened June 15tli, 1874. (Site Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths ;04,OOO

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 4,000

Receipts since date of opening 722

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 1,137

Required from rates to make up deficiency of working expenses 415
Accounts made up to December 31«^, 1875.

S. W. ATKINSON.

Barnsley is a market town in the West Riding, 14 miles Bamsloy.
N. from ShefReld. The population is 23,021, and assess-
ment £77,512. It is one. of those industrial centres
where means for cleanliness to both person and apparel
ar.e especially requisite. The town employs a considerable
number of workpeople in the woollen, coarse linen, and
iron manufactures, and is surrounded by a dispersed popu-
lation whose employments are similar, and also by colliery
employes. The site was bestowed by J. E. Taylor^ Esq.,
J.P.^ constituting an area of 817 yards freehold. There
are 23 private or slipper baths, of which 7 are " ladies
baths," where the charges are 9d. and 6d.; 16 are "gentle-
men's baths," and one swimming bath ; the gentlemen's
baths are charged 6d. and 4d., and the swimming bath
6d.j 4d. and 2d. No part of the original loan has been

[Chap. IIL

i^paid, and the expondiUtre exceeded the receipta £415 in
dghteen months*

BBADFOBD.
Baths opened July 22, 1865. (Sito Freehold.)

Original cost of building baths £7,700

Total amount raised from rates for principal and interest ••• 2,533

Amount of loan remaining unpaid •• 5,167

Receipts since date of opening 15,615

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 18,496

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in woridng expenses 2,88 T
Accounts made up to December 31, 1875.

W. T. McGOWEN.

Bradford. Bradford is a parliamentary borough in the West Biding
of the county, 8 miles W. of Leeds. It is the principal
seat of the stuff and woollen yarn mannfactuivrsof Eoigland.
The population is 145,000 and the assessment £451,293.
The building was originally used as Waterworks offices,
and was transferred to the Baths Committee free of charge.
The loan to defray the cost of plant and alterations was
borrowed from ^^lrious persons under the General Baths
and Wasfaliouses Act. The baths have an area of 1100
square yards, and contain 15 first and 26 second-class
baths, 3 swimming baths, and a Turkish bath.

The expenditure exceeded the receipts £2881 in twenty
3'ears*

DEWSBUBY.

Btiths opened July 17, 187L (Site Fneihold.)

Original cofit' of building baths £1,700

Amount rflmaining unpaid ... 1,700

Beceipta aiofie date of opening ^.. .„ 629

Expenditure (working expenses) since da4£ of opening 1,180

Bequired from rates to make up deficiency in working expenses 54 L
AccountB' mmk tQ» to Septmrtber 80, 1 875.

JEB» SMITH.

Chap. IIL] 87

The borough of Dewsbury is in the Wetfc Biding of Ub Dewsbory
county, 31 miles S.W. from York; mamifaotureB^ blankets
and woollen stuffs generally. The population, is 28^000,
and the assessment £85,158. The baths have an area of
only 39 yards, and comprise 14 warm baths, a swimming
bath, niul 2 shower baths.

The institution originated with a company, but was
ailerwardfl transferred to the corporation, and has been
worked at a loss. Tiie expenditure during the four years
has exceeded the receipts by £551. No part of the original
loan has been repaid.

HULL.
Baths opened April, 1860. (Site FxeehoU.)

Original eoet of builcLiiiglMilihs £13,581

Total amount raised on rate« for principal and interest • 8,124

Amount of loan remaining unpaid 2,409

neceipts since date of opening 4,511

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 11,182

BoqnirBd from rates to make up deficiency in woeking eKpeoses SiOn
AeeounU made up to September 29^A, 1875.

C. S. TODD.

Hull, or Kingston-on-HuIl, is a seaport and borough Hull.
in the Ea^t Biding of the county, situated on the great
inlet of the Humber^ at the point where it is entered by
the river Hull, 34 miles S.E. of York. It is the outport
for Sheffield^ Leeds, Bradford^ £0.5 the groat raanuAictur-
ing centres of the county ; and an immense trade is
carried on in Foreign and Colonial produce. The popu-
lation about 40 years ago was 50,000, during the following
decade it reached 60,000^ and is now 123^400 ; the assess-
ment is £376,672.

The baths are on an important scale^ and suited to the
requirements of such a large population. Tlie area is

88 [Chap. IH.

1,127 square yards, and comprise 17 first, and 30 second-
class men's baths ; 9 first, and 8 second-class women's
baths ; 3 vapour baths, and a swimming bath.

The ex{)endituro exceeded the receipts £6671 in 25 years,
whichshows that the baths have not been largely patronized*

SHEFFIELD.
Baths opened September 7th, 1869. (Site Freehold.)

Total amount rained from rates for building baths ... ... ;£2,414

Beceipts since date of opening ... 3,691

Expenditure (working expenses) since date of opening 3,644

Accounts made up to August, 1875.

J. YEOMAKS.

Sheffield. Sheffield is a large parliamentary borough and manu-
facturing town in the West Hiding of the county,
situated at the confluence of the rivers Sheaf and Don,
both of which are crossed by several bridges, 43 miles
S.W. from York. It is famous for its cutlery and all
kinds of iron and steel goods^ plated wares, metallio
instruments and files. Coal is abundant in the neigh-
bourhood.

The population is 239,946, and the assessment £794^206.
The baths occupy an area of 366 square yards, and contain
8 first-class and 12 second-class baths, and a swimming
bath, 55 by 35 feet.

The cost of building was charged on the borough rate,
and transferred to the credit of the baths account, con-
sequently there is no debt. The baths have been well
< supported, and, under good management, have paid their

wav.

CHiiP. ULI 89

SCOTLAND.

GLASGOW.

Public baths were opened in this city on July Ist, 1876. 01«'ffo^»
The Baths are erected under the provisions of a section
of the Glasgow Police Act^ and the city is mainly in-
debted for this boon to the exertions of Bailie Wilson,
and Mr. William Wilsouy of the Victoria Hot-air Baths
Company.

The Easterie Baths, London Road, were purchased, and
have been entirely remodelled at a cost of £2000. They
are provided with a neat clean swimming pond, 50 by 25
feet, .and 25 porcelain warm baths, the whole interior is
tastefully painted and varnished; the place is largely
patronized.

The Board are erecting, another bathing establishment
in the Qreen Park, at a cost of £14,000 ; the site has
been granted by the Corporation. The accommodation will
comprise a swimming bath for ladies, 45 by 25 feet, and a
swimming bath for gentlemen, 8 J by 40 feet, 100 dressing
boxes, 6 private liot baths, a washhouse of 34 compart-
ments, each provided with three tubs having hot and cold
water attached, and a drying stove. All the latest improve- *
ments are being adopted for washing, drying, mangling,
dressing, &c.

The Bath Committee purpose building similar establish-
ments in various districts of the city, so that shortly
Glasgow will be exceedingly well supplied with baths
and washhouses.

do

[CnAP, III.

COUNTIES IN WHICH THE BATHS AND WASH HOUSES
ACTS HAVE NOT BEEN ADOPTED.

Area. Acres.

ropu1at:oii.

BuckiBghamsbiro

•••

•••

404,040

155,007

CambridgcBhiro ...

•••

•••

573,095

192,033

Ck>mwall

•••

•■•

885,541

358,356

Cum'berland

•••

•••

970.161

220,253

Dorsetshire

*•.

•••

610,582

189,000

X!0BvZ ••• •••

•••

•••

975,038

440,8SO

Herefordshire

...

...

507,647

120,723

HertfiordBhire

■•.

•a*

428,143

194,612 ^

HnntingdonRhirc...

•• ■

•«'•

204,632

58,0«6

Leicestershire

•« •

• • •

534,149

275,171

Monmouthshire ...

...

• •*

432,906

219,708

l^orfolk

...

.•••

1,306,544

430,638

Kortiiamptonshire

...

• * •

632,002

248,234

Oxfordshire ...

...

• t.

475,542

178,329

Rutiandshire

•••

• ••«

107,362

23,386

Shropshire

•^

• ••

924,130

267,008

Samersetshire

•*•

• »•

1,066,290

482,652

SnfiFolk

•■•

•••

929,859

^47^10

Westmoreland . . .

«••

*•«••

503,073

65.130

Wiltshire

• a.

• ••

1

775,414

■

244,607

Korth and South Wales (except-

ing GUamorgan,

the

only

oonnty in which the Act liaa

been adopted) .-

•••

»»•

4t08MaO

.796^64

c^AP. in.]

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Chap. III.} 85

THB QBAKD TOTALS OP THB STATISTICAL AND

FINAISfCUL SUMMABT OF PBOVINCIAL BATHS

AND WASHHOUSSS ABU AS FOLLOWS:—

PopulatioB, 2,741343. Number of Wttrm water batlu, 1,206.

Origimil cost of building batha ... .£S2&»GM

SMttdJWB ••• ••• ••• ••• «•• ••• ••• ••• vevyvov

Ejxpenditnrc... .,. ... •»• ..• ... ••• ••• £33^46

le&t ••« ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• f«« 9,v4AifOo9

The gross financial results of the provincial baths and
washhouses present a striking difference to those of
the metropolitan, from causes that will not be difficult
to explain.

In the metropolitan district there are nearly 49000^000
people, with only ten bathing establishments, situated
in densely populated neighbourboods ; while in the
provinces there are forty establishments scattered over
an immense acreage, with only about one-half the popu-
lation> the working expenses must therefore be relatively
much sfreater.

The expenditure represents £100,000 in excess of the
receipts, yet I am inclined to think, in many instances,
the repayment of the original loan has been included in
the working expenses ; so that it may be fairly assumed
that the gross working expenditure has not exceeded the
receipts more than £50,000, which is a small item when

9S [Chap. UL

we take into consideration the many difliculties under
'^vliich the provincial bath establishments labour.

In a number of small establishments in the outlying^
districts the aggregate outlay has been out of proportion
to the accommodation afforded, with no washing appli-
ances, making it almost impossible the baths could
become self-supporting, but in such towns as Liver-
pool, Birmingham, Bristol, and other large centres of
population, the baths have been supported very nearly,
if not to the same extent, as those in the metropolis, and
will favourably compare in the financial results.

Although baths are essential everywhere, in many
country places the people have the privilege of bathing
in rivers, and more home conveniences, consequently
public baths are less required. Also indiscretion in '
selecting sites, as well as the inappropriateness of the
capital expended, has all told against ^ their financial
success, when compared with the large towns.

Bathing in winter is very unpopular, owing to the
discomforts attending it, which I have discussed in
Chapters V. and VI. In the metropolis, the swimming
baths are resorted to by thousands in summer, and
forms a large source of their income, which, in a measure,
compensates for the loss sustained in winter, while many
of the provincial (establishments are not provided with
swimming baths, consequently their receipts aro not in
the same way augmented in summer to compensate them
for the loss in winter.

In looking over the returns, many will wonder how it
is the baths have not been better patronized in the iron
tend coal districts, but to those who know the habits of
the people the circumstance is easily explained. Nearly
every artisan has a house to himself and is provided with
ample washing accommodation. Coals being about one-

Chap. III.] 97

lialf the price tliey are in the South of England^ the poor
arc able to effect their ablutions and wat^hinn; at home
without inconvenience at a comparatively small cost.

The occupations of the men are essentially dirty, and
they require daily ablutions and change of clothing.
It would bo inconvenient and fatiguing after a hard
day's work for, a man to take a change of clothing to
the bath, besides the occupation of many is very ener-
vating, and an immersion in a hot bath would
tend to further enervate them; at home, with a few
gallons of water before a fire, they are able to perform
their ablutions in comfort, without any extra trouble or
fatigue, hence the people wash more in the North than
the South.

It is to be regretted the Act has not been more gene-
rally adopted in the provinces. Out of the metropolitan
area it has only been exercised in 40 towns, the capital
expended amounts to £329,694, the total inadequacy of
tho present bath accommodation in the provinces is
shown from the fact that there are only 1,200 warm baths
provided for the poor of a population of upwards of
14,000,000.

The expense of the forty bath establishments has
been charged on 2,740,000 people. If the money had
been levied on the counties it would have been divided
amongst 14,000,000 people, and over an acreage of
area, including property nipon it, of 19,000,000. A
rate of Id. in the pound would have met the expenses if
it had been levied on the counties, but having been raised
on the parishes where the Act is adopted, it cost them
8d. in the pound.

It will be observed the Bath Act has been adopted in
twenty out of the forty counties in England. 1 have
suggcbtcd that the money required to establish baths in

H

98 [Chap. IH.

tbe metropolis should be raised ontbe whole metropolitan
area* Tbe same principle should be applied to the
provinces, and tbe money raised on the counties, so that
the oppulent should, contribute their moiety towards this
essential sanitary agent', and not, as at present, leave tbe
expense to be borne by tbe parish in which the bath is
situated. I£ baths were established in all suitable
localities, and the money levied upon the counties, it
would be only just, as the residents in rural districts are
depende&t upon the large towns for a market for tbeir
pffodoctionsi, and tlie inhabitants of towns being com-
pelled to live in less healthy situations, it is but right
the rural population should contribute towards their
means of health ; the well-being of one depends upon
the other, consequently their interests are identical.

Bach county should ascertain the bathing necessities
of tbe poor people, just in the same way it does other
sanitary matters^ and then borrow the money required
from the Loan Commissioners on the security of the
county rates, repayable in sixty years, which would be
^ving. the people what is necessary, at the same time
oppressing none.

At Plymouth and Mansfield the authorities let their
baths and washhouses, which they are impowered to do
under their local Acts. This I venture to say is very ob-
jeetioaable, for immediately the baths are let tlie authorities
have no further control over them, and the tenant charges
what he pleases^ they become trading concerns, established
at tbe cost of the ratepayers, and the Act becomes a dead
letter. Charges are another objection. In Liverpool and
other towns their local Acts allow them to charge what
they please ; this is unjust, because public money should
never be used to compete with private enterprise.
Luxurious and elaborate baths can always be obtained

Chap. HI.] 9»

by those in a position to pay for them ; besidcB, the
same terms should be enforced as in the Act 9 & 10
Vic. cap. 74.

The Act has not been adopted in Manebcster, never*
theleae it is pleasing to find ihat when the candidates for
municipal honours were seeking election, they advocated
die desirabiUty of erecting public hatha and washhousea,
and it is quite evident tliose gentlemen who souglit to
be elected would not discuss a topic if the parishionera
were not pkaAcd with it; hence }t is fair to assume the
Bath and Washhouse movement is occupying the atten-
tion of the people of Manchester, The town is exceed-
ingly well supplied with numerous bathing establishments^
and the charges are suoh as to come within the reaph of
the artizan classes. My experience has led me to the
conclusion that as long as- baths are doigg well and
maintained in efficiency it is not wise to adopt the
Act.

The Bath Act has not been adopted in Ireland, for
what reason I cannot say, except it is that the Turkish
Bath has been generally extended throughout the
country ; and although these are private institutions, yet
in every instance provision is m^dc for the poor by small
charges, but none are refused a bath who cannot pay.
Some particulars of a working-man's Turkish Bath in
Cork is given in the chapter on " Economics," and if
establishments in other districts are as well patronized
as this, the people of Ireland do not require tire Bath
Act.

In Scotland the Act has only recently been adopted,
or rather a clause in their Police Act enables them to
raise money for the purpose on the poors' rate. The
baths will be managed by Police Boards, and the efficient
manner in which they are being administered in Glasgow

100 [Chap. III.

indicates tliat their adoption will soon become general
throughout the country.

In taking up the question I trust the authorities in
other towns will endeavour to secure all the appliances
which experience points to as being likely to add to the
popularity, efficiency, and success of these establish*
ments. In the following chapters I have demonstrated
that hot-air bathing is by far the most efficient mode,
and that its administration is less costly than that com*
monly in vogue, while, for reasons which appear to me
to be conclusive, the system I advocate would rapidly
. become popular, and, by rendering bathing equally prac-
ticable all the year round, a uniform and profitable in-
come would be secured. I trust, therefore, that Scotland,
especially, will benefit by the experience of English
establishments, together with the suggested improve*
ments and additions which I have thrown out, and
which are the result of much thought and inquiry and
not a little experience.

Chap. IV.] 101

CHAPTER ly,.
Rk-Inthoduction of the Turkish Bath, with Obser-

VATIOKS ON the VaPOUB BaTH.

1

THERE can be no doubt that the Bath and Washhouse Ilydro-
Movement received a great stimulus through the gj|jj^y^j* ^
introduction of Hydropathy into this country, and the ^ Baths &
consequent dissemination of the curative virtues of water houses
appliances, and sanitary reformers saw the necessity of
personal cleanliness in order to ensure perfect health.

A year or two previous to the establishment of the first
public bath in England, Captain Claridge, followed by
others, published his experience in regard to the principles
and practice of Vincent Priessnitz, the father of '* the
water cure ; " and it was to the attention thus drawn to
the subject, that gave a further stimulus to the movement
which resulted in the passing of the Baths and Wash-
houses Act of Sir George Grey, in 1846, himself a zealous
advocate of hydropathy.

In like manner, to one of the followers of Priessnitz must Mr. Urqv
be accorded the chief honour in connection with the re- "'
introduction ofthe Turkish Bath into the United Kingdom^
As a feet Mr. David Urquhart was the first to call
attention to the subject by a work in which he published
an account of the Bath, in 1848, entitled " The Pillars
of Hercules," being a description of his travels in the

B

102 IChap. IY.

Dr.Barter. East But somo eight years afterwards, the late Dr.
Barter, Hydropathic Practitioner of St. Ann's Hill, Cork,
haying seen Mr, Urquhart's acconnt of tlie hot-air bath^
with his usual keenness of perception observed the im-
portance of its introduction as a therapeutic agent. Dr»
Barter had for years previously adopted the Vapour and
Lamp Bath, as an impidvement upon the blanket-sweating
process of Priessnitz, for inducing perspiration and heating
purposes, a niethod which was still open to further im-
provement when an opportunity presented itself. He ac-
cordingly wrote to Mr. Urquhart, offering to place men,
money, and material at his disposal, if he would superin-
tend the erection of baths on the improved principles*
Mr. Urquhart consented, and after veiy numerous altera-
tions and additions, the first Turkish Bath in the United
Kingdom was completed and opened in 1856, at St. Ann's
Hill, Cork,
rmprovcd It is as well to state heretliat one feature of the bath, a»
Cafh^^** used in Turkey, and introduced by Mr. Urquhart, was tlio
presence in it of steam. Dr. Barter soon observed, however,
that an atmosphere loaded with moisture was oppressive,
and that his bathers w^ere not able to endure a tempera-
ture higher than 121^. He accordingly, with hfs usual
acuteness, tried the bath uitlwut nwisturey and found that
they could bear a temperature of 160^ with perfect ease.
Hence we are indebted to him for what is called the " im-
proved Turkish Bath,*' i,e , a hot-air bath without any
sensible vapour beyond that which is naturally intro-
duced by the process of ventilation. In pursuing his im-
provement he derived considerable aid from theexamination
of the remains of Eoman hot-air baths in various parts oi
Britain ; and the bath, as improved by Dr. Barter and now
established among us, although called the Turkish Bath,
is in Tcality the Boman Bath.

Chap. IV.] 103

No sooner was the batli in operation at St. Anu*B Hill, Opposition
than it called forth the most violent opposition. Dr. Bar-
ter, however, was not a man to be turned Trom his courso
when he found lie was supported by important facts. He
possessed a spirit that was proof against ridicule and
calumny, and although at first his patients rapidly
decreased in number, he persevered until his efforts were
crowned with more than ordinary success.

Having thus practically demonstrated the utility of the
bath as a medical and sanitary agent, he spared neither
time, labour, nor money, in making known its virtues.
He gave public lectures in various parts of Ireland and
England, inviting medical men, sanitary reformers, and
philanthropists to investigate the subject themselves. As
a matter of course his efforts were opposed with the utmost
virulence. A few, however, who were above the petty
motives of supposed professional interest, did investigate
and acknowledge the hot-air bath to be of the greatest
importance as a thei*apeutic agent.

Eventually the bath made its way into public estima- Fiitt Tur-
tion, and in the year 1862 the first institution of the kind, forth©
after that at St. Ann's Hill, was erected in the city of po<w.
Cork for the use of the poor. That city was mainly
indebted, for the establishment and successful carrying
out of the system, to Mrs. Donovan, aided by other
benevolent persons, and no one has done more than she
has for the sanitary condition of that large and important
city. She was liberal in her expenditure of means and
time in promulgating knowledge as to the means of pre-
serving health, and especially the usefulness of tho
Turkish Bath. Her works entitled, " Simple questions
and Sanitary Facts,** and ** Illness, its Cause and Cure,**
should be read by all persons who liave not given the
fullest attention to this subject. In ^^ Hccollectione of Dr.

104 [CnAP. IV.

Barter," the same author gives an interesting sketch of a
remarkable life.
Turkish Notwithstanding severe but ignorant opposition and
ular in prejudice, the bath rapidly commended itself to the public
Ireland, ji^jnd. In the year 1868 there were not less than fourteen
public Turkish Baths in full operation in the comity
of Cork alone. Dublin possessed three and Bray two,
chiefly through the liberality and zeal of tho late
William Dargan. Those erected at Bray (county of
Wicklow) were especially commodious, convenient, and
architecturally well designed and elegant. Waterford
Limerick, and Sligo, have each two baths. Belfast and
other large centres of population are also well provided
with accommodation for hot-air bathing. The nobility and
gentry throughout the country, more particularly in Lein-
ster and Munster, erected Turkish Bath rooms in connec-
tion with their mansions ; and many manufacturers in
Dublin, its neighbourhood, and in Ulster, provided them
in or adjacent to their factories, for the exclusive benefit
of their workpeople.
Turkish From Ireland the movement extended to England,
Batiisin- ^yljere the first bath w^as established at Bradford: and

troduced • . « .

into Eng- now there is scarcely a town of any importance or hydro-
*° • pathic establishment without its Turkish Bath. London

alone possesses twenty, and many private persons have
hot-air baths attached to their residences. Bradford pos-
sesses two ; Manchester, four ; Leeds and Oxford, three.
Liverpool, Birmingham, and Bolton two. There is one
in each of the following places : Blackburn, Bury, Bristol,
Brighton, Bath, Clifton, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Derby,
Droitwich, Guildford, Luton, Leamington, Margate, New-
castle-upon-Tyne, Peterborough, Plymouth, Southampton,
Scarborough, Stroud, Hull, Skipton, Southport, Sheffield,
Windsor, Wakefield, Windermere, and Worcester. The

Chap. IV.] 105

following hydropathic establishments have Turkish Baths
attached : Ilkley - Wells, Ben Rhyddincr, Llangollen
Limpley, Stoke, Malvern, Bamet, Paddington Green,
Sndbrook Park, Beulah Spa^ and Tbrale Hall.

That the Turkish Bath has received the same apprecia- Turkish
tion in Scotland will be apparent from the following g^^ia^d.
quotation from a letter from Dr. Munro, Melrose Hydro-
pathic Establishment : " There are," he says, " six
Turkish Baths under my care here. I know of two in
Edinburgh, one in Leith, and three or four in Glasgow.
These arc all I know open to the public in our towns. A
number of private families have now got them into their
houses, using Scriven's Patent Stove for heating purposes.
It is undoubtedly the best means of heating that I have
ever met with. The various hydropathic establishments
in Scotland have, I think, all Turkish Baths. There is
one at Eothesay, one at Bridge of Allan, one at Crieff,
and one at Chmy Hill, Forres. I suppose there must also i

be one at Skelmorlie on the Clyde." There is also a
Turkish Bath in a hydropathic establishment near
Aberdeen.

It is very gratifying to be able to state that although
the system has been introduced scarcely twenty years,
there are over 100 Turkish Baths open to the public in the
United Kingdom, and over 1,000,000 persons recognize
the efficacy of the Bath as a medical and sanitary agent,
superior to any other in hygienic science.

Such is a brief sketch of the re-introduction of the Baths
so-called Turkish Bath; for we have abundant evidence to known to
prove that this form of bathing was known to the early Ancients,
inhabitants of Britain, it having been brought hither by
the Bomans. In fact wherever Roman remains are found,
there we find traces of the Bath. Afler the departure of
the Roman legions, its use appears to have rapidly

106 IOhap. IV.

Ci«clinecl, until at last it was forgotten. It is however
remarkable that dnring the reign of Charles IL, it Teas
partially revived. Three or four Bagnios, as they were
then called, were established in London, the chief of
which was in Long Acre. They firo described as being
after tlie Turkish model, and only intended for the
wealthier classes. They were nsed in tlie first instance
for curative purposes, for sweating, hot bathing, and
cupping ; but they soon became the resort of disre-
putable persons, and fell into discredit, so that the
very name was for a long time a syncrfym for a
house of ill fame. They do not seem to have survived
the dissolute Prince in whose reign they were inti'o-
duced.
Vapour About the middle of last century, the Vapour Bath

troduced' ^^^ introduced into England by an Italian physician
into Eng^ named Dominicelli, who gained considerable repute
* for his cures, and was patronized by Sir John Fielding ;

and at the beginning of the present century. Vapour
Baths wei:e also introduced by two persons, the one Mr.
Basil Cochrane, and the other Sake Deen Mahomed,
a native of India, who styled himself Shampooing
Surgeon. Mahomed established baths at Brighton,
and was patronized by George IV., as well as by
the chief of the nobility. His system included sham-
pooing and the use of medicinal herbs.* Mr. Cochrane,
whose method was more after the Russian — Vapour Baths
pure and simple — devised apparatus for the appli-
cation of the bath to all classes, from the private
house to the Army and Navy. He thought it especially

* In 1838, Mahomed, then m his 89th year, published a third edition
of his interesting little hook on the baths, in which he gives a number
of cures, and the names of some hundreds of subscribers to his baths.
His longevity is itself a testimonial to the value of the baths.

Chap. IV.] 107

ralnablc to our mercliant service, ami dedicated kis
work on the subject to the tbcn First XiOrd ef
the Admiralty, Yisoaunt Melville. Ho eonstrudsed baths
on his improved system iu bis bouse in Portman
Square, whei^e be treated many poor people gratia^ with
gi'cat success. These baths and models were tested and
examined by some of the foremost physicians of the day,
who, in the work above mentioned, append their names to
tlie statement that ^' There are few diseases in which they
may not, at one stage or another, be useful ; and in the
prevention of disease, as well. as durii^ tlie periods of
convalescenee, they will also produce effects bighly
beneficial."

Dr. William Forbes contributed a paper to the Edinburgh Dr. Wm.
Medical and Surgical Journal in 1810 (page 313) upon ^^^^ °^
the Steam Bath, with an account of its effects in a case of Baths.
Gastritis. He gives clear instructions for the oonstruction
of the bath, and a diagram exhibits a very ingenious adap-
tation of a common slipper bath to the purpose. He con-
cludes his paper thus : — * ' The advantages of the vapour
bath consists in the readiness with which it may at all
times be used ; the ease with which the temperature can
be regulated ; and the patient's running no risk of catdiing
cold."

In 1838 Dr. Charles Whitlaw published ''Code o/p,. chas.
Healthy^ ih whiph he states that *•' twenty years experience Whitlaw
has convinced me of the beneficial results arising from tlie B^ths?°^'
use of the Vapour Bath," and he gives a formidable list of
diseases be had successfuly treated by it. A committee
was formed on the 24th of April, 1837, for the purpose of
establishing a Vapour Bath Institution, for Hie benefit of
the poo7*y on the medical principles of Mr. Whitlaw, and
an address, calling attention to the question, and inviting
co-operation and pecuniary support, was issued by the

108 [Chap. IY.

Hon. Sec, tlie eminent nonconformist preacher, the Rev.
Alexander Fletcher, M.A.
New York Mr. Whitlaw informs us " That in America, tho insti-
I3ath Co. tiition of Vapour Baths has been attended with amazing
success. To the Committee of the New York Yapour
Bath Company, tlie physicians who superintended the
baths, among whom, was Dr. William Ireland, reported
the successful treatmentof two hundred and twenty-seven
cases, in the quarter ending October 1825, with a list of
the various diseases with which they were afflicted. Out
of a number of cases submitted to the bath, it was proved,
that in acute and chronic inflammation, more benefit had
been derived from its use in twenty-four hours, than had
ever been witnessed in a month's most successful practice
— amounting to

Cured ... ... 468

Believed 186

Not relieved 27

C81."
Vapour But though these eflforts gave the Yapour Bath a

iwpular. temporary prominence, they failed to establish it as a
national, or even a popular institution. Perhaps in a
land which is naturally subject to so much moisture and
vapour, there may be a native instinct against the Yapour
Bath, and as strong a predilection in favour of the hot-air
system. Be that as it may, the revival of the Roman
Bath in the United Kingdom has met with a support
which, considering the natural slowness of the English
mind to adopt innovations, is highly gratifying.

The Turkish Bath is the most effective, if not the most
ancient of sudorific processes, and, although its origin is
veiled in obscurity, doubtless the idea of warm water
and vapour baths may be traced to natural hot springs,

Chap. IV.] 109

and so may that of hot-air baths to the effects of solar
heat on objects, animate or inanimate, exposed to it.

Going as far back as existing records will carry us, ^^|!j[J^*^^
Homer, the father of Greek poetry, describes his heroes Bath,
as refreshing themselves with the warm bath during the
Trojan War (b.o. 1194); and we know that the hot-air
bath was systematically employed in the renowned Greek
Gymnasia, as part of the admirable system of physical
training there practised. Greece probably derived her hot-
air bath from Asia, but of that there is no certainty. She
caused it to form part of her unrivalled national institu-
tions, yet, strange to say, never thought of iti as a house-
hold convenience, for we find the father of physic,
Hippocrates, was prevented from prescribing it in some
cases because of the. difficulty of obtaining it. The
Romans who borrowed it with its concomitants, rubbing,
anointing, &c., from the Greeks, not only adopted its public
use, but made it subservient to private convenience. In
the days of the Empire, the baths, public and private,
presented marvellous specimens of architectural magnifi-
cence ; especially such were those of Nero, Titus, Caracalla,
and Diocletian. They were not only of prodigious extent
and august grandeur, but were decorated with the most
precious marbles, statues, paintings, jewels, and the most
varied works of art.

G. Worthington, Esq., in his work on *^ Batliing; its

Uses and Advantages," has the following : C^. Worth-

ington.

*' As the wealth of the Boman Empire increased, the edifices erected
for the purpose of bathing became most luxurious and costly. At the
time of Augustus, and subsequent to his reign, the Baths were finished
and decorated in a style of magnificence almost incredible. The pipes
that conveyed the water were made of silver, the walls elaborately stuc-
coed in imitation of painting, basins made of rare stone, and marble in
profusion ; and to such an extent did their extravagant tastes lead them,
that the Ifidies had their private baths even paved with silver."

110 [Chap. IV.

Roman rj^ Romans called tlieir batlis Thermse, from the Greek

Thermos (heat), and set the highest value upon them as
means of health and pleasure. No doubt tlie Thermae
were abased in the degenerate days of the Empire, especi-
ally yrhen deprived of the patronage of the- emperor and
the nobility npon the remoTal of the seat of empire to
Constantinople. They then became the lounging resort of
an idle and dissolute rabble. In Constantinople, and
throughout the Eastern Empire, the change in the seat of
power, led to a i^eriod in which the Therma) flourished
exceedingly; and when these fair regions were overrun
by the Turks, they not only spared such establislunents^
but adopted and patronized them, and have preserved
them until now, much to their own benefit, and haply
to ours also. » Of late, many travellers in the East have
experienced their advantages, and have pressed the con-
sideration of them upon the attention of western Europe.

Origin of Somo are disposed to regard the Phoenician cities of
Tyre and Sidon as the original home of the hot-air bath,
at all events so far as the civilized world may claim the
origin^ From those Phoenician cities a knowledge of the
Bath would find its way along the southern shores of
the Mediten'anean to Egypt and North Africa, as far as
the Pillars of Hercules; and on the northern side of
of the " Great Sea," to Greece, Italy, and Spain. On
the landward side the line of caravan communication
would transmit it to Asia Minor, Persia, Central Asia,
and Hindostan. Thence to China, the art may have
been conveyed, if not previously known. Diverse
as have been the forms and details of the bath processes
in these regions several 1}'', the principle has throughout
been one. Indeed, so likely is tliis pnnciple to commend
itself to the human mind, that if the foregoing theory of
tlie spread of the institution be rejected, it is no great

Baths.

Chap. IV.] Ill

stretch of imaginatiou to conceive as the alternative that
the idea arose independently, in various nations, and in
different ages, and took the form which convenience or
opportunity dictated* It is quite certain^ that with slight
modifications^ i^ was known to cities and nations not far
removed from savago life, and by nearly all the histori-
cally known peoples of antiquity. Musa, in his account of
the Scythians, has the following passage, which we quote
from Rawlinson's translation of Herodotus : —

**They make a booth by fixing in the ground three
sticks^ inclined towards one another, and stretching
around them woollen felts, which they arrange so as to
fit. as ciose as possible. Inside the booth a dish is placed
upon the ground, into which they put a number of red-
hot stones. Taking some hemp-seed^ and creeping under
the felt coverings, they throw it upon the red-hot stones ;
immediately it smokes, and gives out such a vapour as no
Grecian vapour-bath can exceed. The Scyths, delighted,
shout for joy."

The form of bath employed in countries bordering the Eastern
shoi-es of the Mediterranean— Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, ^^°^™*™'
&c. — is that which has become familiar to us as the
Eastern Hammam. A light and elegant cooling room
for undressing first receives the bather. From thence,
duly robed, lie proceeds to the hot room, which is often
so filled with vapour that he can scarcely breathe.
Perspiration is here evoked, and the bather is forthwith
soa])-lathered with a rough glove of camel's hair, soused
with hot water, shampooed, and scraped. Conducted to
the cooling room, he is offered coffee and sherbet, and
reclines in a state of comfort described as truly elysian.
The Easterns regard the bath as their greatest comfort and
luxury, and their one welcome resource in illness, fatigue,
or mental distress. Its beneficial action is enhanced

112 [Chap. IV.

by the pleasures of social intercourse, for wliicli tlio bath

gives most welcome facilities, and the oriental taste for

architectural magnificence and grandeur is frequently

gratified by the style and decorations of the building.

The Bath Going westward to Ireland and America, we find a

' form of bath more primitive, but constructed on the same

principle. The Irish bath was generally "built of basalt

stones, plastered with mud or mortar, and shaped like a

bee-hive, having a hole at the top, and another near the

ground, by which the bather gained entrance. The

interior was large enough for one person to seat himself,

and the place was heated after the manner of a baker's

oven, with a large turf fire. The fire was left until burnt

quite down, when its remains were removed, and tho

floor strewn with rushes. The bather then crept in and

seated himself, and the sod which had been placed over

the hole at the top to keep in the heat was removed to

allow him to breathe. Here he remained until the beads

of perspiration rolled off in abundance, he was then

.taken out, bathed, wrapped in blankets, and conveyed

home. These erections were called, in the Keltic tongue.

Tig AUirij or sweating houses. They were for the most

part placed on the banks of rivers, lakes, or ponds, for

facility of after bathing.

These ^' Sweating Houses " are used in Ireland to this
day, especially in the province of Connaught, the most
j)rimitive part of the island. More particularly this uiodo
of cure is used in the northern counties of the province,
Loitrim, Sligo, and Roscommon. The peasantry of the
baronies of Liney, Geevah, and Tirrerah, consider them an
infallible cure for colds, fevers, agues, pulmonary com-
plaints and dropsies,
rrimiiive By whatever means the aborigines of America became
Baths. acquainted with thermal batliing, it is certain that in

Chap. rV.J 113

their own primitive way they employed it for the cure of
their distempers. In North America the native sweating
house resembled a large oven, with a small door on
either side, one for the bather to creep in by, and the
other for introducing red-hot stones. On these stones
water was sprinkled to raise a steam, there the bather
sat, until, having undergone a thorough perspiration, he
was taken out, reekiug hot^ and plunged into the stream penn,
hard by. The following is an extract from a letter by ^^^^J^^^^
William Penn, the founder of Pensylvania, to Dr. Bay- vania, on
nard, the author of a work on cold bathing, describing the ^^ incU-
,bath of the North American Indians :— ""•

*' Ab I find the Indians on this continent more incident to fevers than
any other distempers, so they rarely fail to cure themselves by great
sweating, and immediately plunging themselves into cold water, which
they say is the only way not to catch cold. I once saw an instance of it,
with divers more in company. For being upon a discovery of the back
part of the countryi I called upon an Indian of note, whose name was
Tenoughan, the captain-general of the clans of Indians in those parts.
I found him all of a fever, his head and limbs much affected with pain,
and at the same time his' wife preparing a bagnio for him. The bagnio
resembled a large oven, into which he crept by a door on one side, while
she put several red-hot stones in at a smaU door on the other side thereof,
and then fastened the door as closely from the air as she could. Now,
while he was sweating in this bagnio, his 'vHf e (for they disdain no ser-
vice) was cutting with an axe a passage into the river (being the winter
of 1683, the frost great, and the ice very thick], in order to the immersing
himself after he should come out of the bath. In less than half-an-hour
he was in so great a sweat that when he came out he was as wet as if he
had come out of a river, and the reeking steam of his body so thick that
it was hard to discover anybody's fisice that stood near him. In this con-
dition he ran to the river, which was about twenty paces, and ducked
himself twice or thrice therein, and so returned (passing only through the
bagnio to mitigate the stroke of the cold) to his own house, perhaps
twenty paces further, and, wrapping himself in his woollen mantle, lay
down at his length near the long (but gentle) fire in the middle of his wig-
wam or house, turning himself several times till he was dry, and then he
rose and fell to getting us our dinner, seeming to be ^ easy and well in
health as at any other tinra."
I

114

[Chap. IV.

«

Fonnof
Bath in
Mexico.

Baths in
Hussia,
JapaD, &.

Sometimes this oven-bath was conatmcted of poles
covered with skins^ so as to be perfectly air-tight^ and
sometimes a hollow square of six or eight feet deep was
formed in the river bank, by damming np the other three
sides with mud^ and covering the whole over, except an
aperture of abont two feet in diameter at the top for the
bather to enter. The nse of these sweating-houses was
common among all the Indian tribes, from the Atlantic to
the Pacific coast of what may now be ctUed Anglo-Saxon
Atnerica.

In Mexico a similar form of stmctore was used, but
built of bricks and provided with a furnace^ having ^^ a
mouth " to receive the fuel, and a hole at the top for the
smoke to be emitted. Within was placed a mattress upon
which the bather reclined, a pitcher of water and some
sweet smelling herbs. When the bath (or Terma^calle, as
it was called,) was duly heated, the bather entered, accom-
panied by an attendant, the entrance was closed, and the
attendant sprinkled water upon the hot stones aroond the
furnace until the whole place was filled with vapour^
while the bather reclined on the mattress, beat the ailing
part with herbs dipped in the water which by that time
had become slightly wanned. The Mexican found this a
remedy in various diseases, especially in cases of bites by
poisonous reptiles.

Tracing the bath eastward from its supposed source on
the Syrian shores of the Mediterranean, we find it fiourish-
ing in Russia, Tartary, China, and Japan. The Russian
Bath has been so often described that many of my readers
will be familiar with the description. In St. Petersburg,
Moscow, ^nd other large towns, both in European and
Asiatic Russia, the public baths are numerous, and are
frequented by all classes, especially by the poor, who are
'ufiuenced by the observance of religious rites as well as

Chap. IV.] 115

by consideratiiHis of health and personal enjoyment On
Sunday evenings in St. Petersburgh may be seen crowds of
mechanics, labourers, soldiers, women, and children with
birch twigs in their hands and towels under their arms^
their direction being a door over which is written, " En-
trance to the Baths : " here they take their tickets, males
and females proceeding to separate compartments where
they undress. Beyond the undressing rooms are air-hot
chambers, which are filled with rapour, caused by throw-
ing hot. water jfrom pipes over heated stones or bricks.
Around the apartments extends a range of steps reaching
from floor to ceiling, and the heat is in proportion to the
ascent. Into this vapour-filled chamber as many bathers
crowd as can find accommodation, and arrange themselves
in tiers upon the ascending gradation of steps. Each is
furnished with a small pailful of hot water with which to
souse his body now and then as he switches it with the
birch twigs. After working themselves up to a high heat
and profuse p^^ration, the bathers finish in summer by
ablutions of sonp and cold water ; and in winter, by rush-
ing out and rolling themselves in the snow. The Russians
take great delight in this bath, believing it to be a
sovereign remedy for many diseases, while its efiect in
strengthening their constitutions is too evident to admit of
•doubt. " The eyes of a Bassian gentleman gladden with
rapture when he speaks ofihe bagnio, it is his Tie plus ultra
of mortal bliss.'*

Dr. Clarke, in the account of his travels in Russia at Dr.
the beginning of the present century, makes mention of ^^ri^'f
the Russian Bath, and describes a visit he paid to onetionofa
with the view of being relieved from a rheumatic pain, BaS!"^
brought on by a sudden change of weather which took
place in Moscow. After describing the general appear-
ance of the interior, he notices that in the middle of the

116 [Chap. IV.

room was a step to a platform elevated above the floc*r^
and on each side of the platform a stove, the upper sur*
faces of which were covered by reeds, the bed of reeds-
being in turn covered by a sheet. He then proceeds :—

" I was directed to xnonnt upon one of these stoyes, and to place myself
at fiill length hn. the sheet ; having done which, I found myself nearly
elevated to the roof of the bath, and the heat of ascending vapour threw
me immediately into a most profuse perspiration. According to Storoh,,
the heat varies £rom 104 to 122 degrees of Fahrenheit ; and some-
times, upon the upper stages near the roof, it is twenty degrees above
fever heat. Thus situated, a man began to rub me all over with a woollen
cloth, made into a bag, covering one of his hands, till the exterior surfiice
of the sikin peeled off. As soon as he had finished the operation with the
woollen doth, he bade me descend, and poured several vessels of warm
water on my head, whence it fell all over my body. He then placed me
on the floor, and washed my hair with his hands, scratching my head 1x2-
all parts with his nails — a great luxury to the Kussians, and for reasona
it is not necessary to explain. After this, he again made me ascend the
stove, where once more stretching me at length, he prepared a copious
lather of soap, with which, and a woollen doth, he again rubbed my
body, when I descended a second time> and was again soused with vessds
of water. I was next desired to extend myself on the stove for the third
time, and informed that the greatest degree of heat would be given. To
prepare for this, they cautioned me to lie on my face, and keep my head
down. Birch boughs were then brought, with their leaves on, and dipped
in soap and hot water, with which they began to scrub me afresh ; at the
same time, some hot water being cast upon red-hot cannon balls, and
upon the principal stove, such a vapour passed all over me, that it came
like a current of fire upon my skin. If I ventured to raise my head an
instant, it seemed as though I was breathing fiames. It was impossible
to endure this process for any length of time ; therefore, finding myself
unable to cry out, I forced my way down from the stove, and was con-
ducted to the lower part of the room, where I seated myself on the floor,
and the doors being opened, soon recovered sufficiently to walk out of the
bath.

** Eminent physicians have endeavoured to draw the attention of the
English government to the importance of public baths, and of counte-
nancing their use by every aid of example and encouragement. While
we wonder at their prevalence among all the Eastern and Northern
nations, may we not lament that they are so little used in our own
country P We might, perhaps, find reason to allow that erysipelas.

Chap. IY.] H7

surfeit, rheumatism, colds, and a hundred other evils, particularly all
sorts of cutaneous and nervous disorders, might be alleviated, if not pre-
vented, by a proper .attention to bathing. The inhabitants of countries
in which the bath is constantly used, anxiously seek it, in full confidence
of getting rid of all such complaints, and they are rarely disappointed*
I may add my testimony to theirs, having, not only upon the occasion
which gave rise to these remarks, but in cases of obstructed perspiration
much more alarming, during my travels, experienced their good effect.
I hardly know any act of benevolence more essential to the comfort of
the community, than that of establishing, by public benefiaction, the use
of baths for the poor, in all our cities and manufacturing towns. The
lives of many might be saved by them. In England they are considered
only as articles of luxury ; yet throughout the vast empire of Hussia,
through all Finland, Lapland, Sweden, and Norway, there is no cottage
80 poor, no hut so destitute, but it possesses its vapour bath, in which all
its inhabitants, every Saturday at least, and every day in cases of sickness,
experience comfort and salubrity."

' Speaking then of the benefit that would accrue to this Benefits
country from the establishment of warm and vapour baths, ^°J^
he continues : —

** Perhaps at some future period they may become general ; and statues
may perpetuate the memory of the patriot, the statesman, or the sovereign
to whom society will be indebted for their institution When we are told
that the illustrious Bacon lamented in vain the disdse of baths among
the Europeans, we have little reason to indulge the expectation. At the
same time, an additional testimony to their salutary effects, in affording
longevity and vigorous health to a people otherwise liable to mortal
/diseases from a rigorous climate and an unwholesome diet, may contribute
to their establishment. Among the ancients, baths were public edifices
under the immediate inspection of the government. They were con-
sidered as institutions which owed their origin to absolute necessity, as
well as to decency and cleanliness. Under her emperors, Rome had near
A thousand such buildings, which, besides their utility, were regarded as
masterpieces of architectural skill and sumptuous decoration. In Russia,
they have only vapour-baths, and these are, for the most part, in
wretched wooden hovels. If wood is wanting, they are formed of mud,
or scooped in the banks of rivers and lakes ; but in the palaces of the
nobles, however they may vary in convenience or splendour of materials,
the plan of construction is always the same."

In Finland the bath is generally attached to the housea

Tartary.

118 LChap. IV.

of the peasantry, and consists of one small chamber, with
a kind of oven filled with round stones, which are heated
until thej become red. There are two rows of seats, one
near the groand, and one in the hotter region near the
roof. While in the bath the Finlanders rnb themseives,
and switch their bodies with the twigs of the birch tree.
Having done this to their satisfaction, they finish witb
cold water or a roll in the snow in the true noftfaem
style. The great objection to these Eussian and Finnidi
baths is their oppressive amount of vapour and their
defective ventilation. But though far fitMn pei&ct, they
are vastly better than no bath at all, and as ^onstTBcted
and managed, for example, by Dr. M. Both in London^
they are in certain states of body eminently serviceable.
Baths in In far east Tartary, whither the victorious arms of
Bussia have now penetrated, the soldiers of the Czar
have an opportunity of bathing on the Ikot-air principle^
which they find more agreeable^ it is to be presumed,
than their own -stifling vapour. The batlus of Bokliara^
the Tartar capital, and t&ere are sixteen of them, consist
of four compartments, of which two are for dressing saxd
sipping tea, and two for the perspiring, shampooing,,
and bathing processes. The two latter are heated from
below, after the Greek and Boman method. In the first
chamber, the batiier dofis his outer garments; in the
second, which has a slightly higher temperature, he
completes his disrobing. Gilding himsdf with his bath«^
ing costume, he enters the third and hottest room, where
he reclines until he has sufficiently perspired. Proceeding
then to the fourth room he gives himself up to the sham^
pooer, who manipulates with such skill as he has, rubs
him with a coarse hair cloth, and finishes by pouring cold
or cool water over him. He then returns to recline
and sip his tea in the first or second apartment. These

Chap. IV.] 119

Tartar baths, although not so good as the Turki^^ are ft
great improvement upon the Russian.

The Chinese baths approach nearer to the Russian type, Chineso
being vapoury not hot-air baths. As a fair specimen of ^^^'
them, those of Shanghai may be taken^ which have been
described as folloMis : — Each bathing, establishment has
two outer or eooHng rooms for toilet purposes, one large
public room for the poorer classes, and one smaller and ^
private room for the respectable. Down the middle and
along the sides of these rooms are ranged rows of small
boxes, or lockers furnished wtth lock and key, into which
the bathers put their clothes. At the further end of the
building is a small door by which they enter into the
bathing room, which is about thirty feet by twenty, and
is filled with hot steam or vapour* The entire floor, except a
narrow space round tlie sides, is oecupied by a hot-^ater
bath from one to eighteen inches deep. The furnace is
outside, and the flues are carried under the centre of the
bath. In the haey light of this room may be seen the
perspiring Chinamen disportisig themselves in the shallow
water, until, when cleansed to their i^atisfaction, they
return to the cooling room, there to regale themselves
with cups of tea and pipes of tobacco. All classes of
Chinese frequent these bathing establishments. Mr. Ellis, Mr. Ellis
in his *' Journal of the Embassy to China (1816)," saysof ^a ^g, ^
this Chinese cleansing apparatus, that it is ^^ disgusting,"
and " worthy of this nasty nation;" but says Mr. Erasmus
Wilson, " What would Mr. Ellis say of a country in which
there existed no cleansing apparatus whatever? For
example, his own." Thanks, however, to Mr. Urquhart
and Dr. Barter, this home question has now Iqst some-
thing of its point and unpleasantness.

In Japan tlie bathing place is usually built at the back Japanese
of the gardens of private dwellings, and is got readj' ^* ^'

120 [Chap. IV.

every evening, as the Japanese regard it as a necessary
refreshment after the fatigues of the day. Their bath is
either a vapour or warm water one, sometimes both. The
sweating house is nearly nine feet square and about six
feet in height, besides having the floor raised three feet
from the ground. The floor is of planed laths, set a few
inches apart to let the vapour in, and the water out. Two
shutters, one on each side, are provided to let out the
superfluous vapour, and there is a small door by which the
bather creeps in. The empty space between the floor and
* the ground is walled in to prevent the escape of vapour by
the sides. The furnace stands out towards the yard, but
under the sweating house is the boiler with the necessary
water, to which is added odoriferous plants. There are
placed near him two tubs, one of warm and one of cold
water, that he may wash himself after the sweating process.
Baths in The sweating house of the New Zealander is a round
land. ^*' ^^^® ^"g ^^ ^^^ ground, into which hot stones are thrown,
and the patient being let down and covered up, remains in
the hole until he has perspired enough for his purpose,
when he is taken out and plunged into a stream of
water.
Bathing, a In all these difierent constructions and modes of operation,

human , • 'x* ii. i. • • i j • i.

instinct, however primitive, the same great principle predominates,
to flush out the pores of the skin to an extent which would
be impossible in a mere warm-water bath. None of the
other forms of bath described here come up in magnifi-
cence or efficency to those of Greece and Rome. Never-
theless, rude and imperfect as some of them are, they are a
benefit, and indicate a natural instinct in the human race,
under whatever savage or civilized condition it may exist,
to bathe and be clean. Erasmus Wilson has some remarks
so apropos on this point, in his work entitled the " Eastern,
or Turkish Bath," that I cannot refirain from citing them.

Chap. !¥•] 121

** The bath,** he says, ** is an animal instinct, and, par
excellence^ a human instinct ; it is as much a necessity of
our nature as drink. We drink because we thirst — an
interior sense. We bathe because water, the material of
drink, is a desire of the outward man — an exterior sense.
An animal, whether beast or bird, pasturing or straying
near a limpid stream, first satisfies tlie inward sense^ and
then delights the outward sense. A man, be he savage or
ciyilized, can no more resist the gratification of bathing
his wearied limbs in a warm transparent pool than he can '
resist the cup of water when athirst. Instinct bids him
bathe and be clean. To inquire — Who invented the act of
drinking ? would be as reasonable as to ask — Who invented
the bath?"

On the continent of Europe the revival of the Turkish Revival of

Til rlH fill

Bath was hailed with enthusiasm, and is known in some Baths on
parts of Germany as the Irish Bath — doubtless arising *^® ^®°*^'
from its introduction to that country from Ireland. It
has been introduced with uniform, if not with equal
success, into all parts of the world. Wherever the Anglo-
Saxon race is established, the hot-air bath is a necessity.
In the United States and Canada there are few important
cities that do not possess these ThermaD. They havo
likewise been erected in the large towns of Australia, New
Zealand, and other English colonies.

That which is now offered to the attention of the English Improved
people is superior to the others already described. " It is Bath.
the Roman Bath without the anointing, and the Turkish
Bath without its undue moisture." Anointincf is no
longer required for the purposes for which the Romans
used it, and the moisture of the Turkish and other baths
has been found to be an injurious imperfection. The
^ improved Turkish Bath" is one of pure atmospheric air
properly heated, having its due proportion of ozygeni

122 [Char IV.

making respiration pleasant, oxydatioa of the blood
perfect, evaporation and depuration complete, and exalting
the tonic infloenca of the subsequent cold applianees.
*^ Under the influence of pure heated air/' sajs Dr.
Barter, ^^ free from visible steam j and oontiiHiCMislj renewed
by a perfect system of ventilation, no <me feels the distress
which so frequently aceompanies other heating appliances,
for while perspiralion is more fiilly obtained, the pulse is
sddom found to rise much above its normal standard.^'
This is the great feaiuce of the Improved Turkish J3atfa,
and one on which its perfect safety and curative property
will be £>nnd mainly to depend.

The saturation of the atmo^here with nuHsture interferes
with the free transpiration from the lungs and skin, and
thus impedes the process which nature provides for cooling
the body. Steam fills the space which vital air should
occupy, and thus from both causes nature is placed in a
difBcuIiy in regard .to the heaL Natuud did not intend
TTiflTi to live in an atmosphere of vapour ^or water. Pure
air is man's proper medium ; and if it be pure and dry it
can never do harm.

It is a matter of experience that when a feeling of
disoomfort occurs in a season of he^ it is always in
proportion to the anK)uiit of moisture present in the
atmosphere. When the thermometer stands at 60 the
atmosphere, if dry, is agreeable, but if saturated with
moisture, it will be raw 4ind cold. K the atmosphere be at
80 and dry it will not be oppressive, whereas if moisture
be present it will be very disagreeable. In tropical
countries the greatest discomfort from heat is experienced
when the atmosphere is loaded with moisture. Thus
higher temperatures can be borne with less oppression in
dry inland regions than on the sea coast or along the
courses of large rivers.

Chap. IV.] 123

If, then, a person wants to command perspiration with«
ont distress or discomfort; if he desire to prodnce an
impression of temperatnre on the sorfiice without injmrj
to the system ; if it be his object to prepare the body for
atmospheric changes with impnnitj — use the improved
Taikish Bath.

The e:d»n8iTe nse of the hot-air bath has serred to When a
explode the nonsense entertained about the danger of ^g^^^^t
bathing while the body is hot and perspiring. There are, *°,^®
indeed^ conditions of body in which a oold badi OQg^ not
to be taken : —

1st. When tiie body is chilly.

2nd. When it is exhausted.

3rd. When the stomach is full of andigested food.

4th. When the respiration is nndnly disturbed by orer-
exhaustion.

But in respect of mere heat of body there cannot be too Warmth.
much ; if not glowing or perspiring, it ought always to be
comfortably warm,. prior to cold douching, or immersian.
Warmih, preparatory to the cold morning ablution, ie
secured by the heat of the bed. At other times different
means may be adopted; the most natural method is
exercise— a smart walk, the gymnasium, or an athletic
game will serve the purpose very well. But for the lame,
the delicate, and all persons who from any cause are pre-
vented from raising the temperature of the body by the
expenditure of nervous force, recourse must be had to
passive means.

That there was a necessity for a more perfect method of Necessity
bathing than existed before the introduction of the Turkish v^'-rl^k-
system, is patent from the rapid progress the latter has ^^ Baths.
made, for it is the only mode capable of supplying this
necessity, and were it brought within the reach of thd
working classes^ we should soon see gratifying results m

124 [Chap. IV.

the cleanliness, and health saperinduced. The Legisla-
ture accomplished a most beneficial work in passing the
Baths and Washhonses Act^ resulting as it did in a great
advancement of personal purity.
Swim- Swimming baths are popular, and have proved a great
£iitEs. sanitary advantage, and the most lucrative department of
such institutions. No one who witnesses the fine athletic
forms of the men who frequent these plunge or swimming
baths can doubt the benefit which accrue from their use
to the youth of the working classes, with whom it is the
only exercise obtainable apart from that which belongs to
their daily labour^ which too often strengthens one part of
the body at the expense of the other members of it. The
warm baths have proved a failure, financially, so that
as far as a bath for cleansing purposes is concerned, there
is decided need for reform, especially when they can be
made profitable. This can in no way be so efiectually
applied as by the introduction of the Turkish Bath, or
such a modified form of it as I shall describe in an ensuing
chapter. All agree who have investigated and given
the subject impartial consideration, that neither legislation
nor public nor private enterprise could be employed to
better advantage than in supplying the poor with a cheap
Hot-air Bath, one of the greatest sanitary wants of the age.
Dr. Shep- It may not be out of place here to introduce a letter
opinion, which I recently received from Dr. E. Sheppard, medical
superintendent of the Middlesex County Lunatic Asylum,
Colney Hatch, who has given much attention to the
subject*

" Dbar Sib, — Knowing you are one of the Local Sanitary Board for
Faddington, and that it is in contemplation to erect baths and wash-
honses for the district, I venture to suggest to you the importance of
combining therein the hot-air or vapour bath. With your experience of
these great adjuncts to health, it is not necessary to point out the

Chap. IV.] 125

immense advantage to the community of such a combination. But I may
mention a fact which may have some influence upon your colleagues. A
large number of my patients quitting the asylum, restored both in body
and mind, haye only one regret in doing so, and that is that they az6
relinquishing one of those luxurious means which has largely helped to
their recovery. * We cannot afford,' they say, * to pay Is. 6d. a week for
a Turkish Bath.' Could not some means be devised for bringing this
great eliminator of blood-poison within the range of the lower orders ?
The matter is well worthy of consideration, and you would confer an
inestimable boon upon the public if your board would initiate the same
in your district."

126.

CHAPTER V.
Hot Air, versus Warm- Water Baths.

Turkish A LTHOUGH the Hot-air or Turkish Bath has, as I
Batha for ^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ j„ ^j^^ previous chapter, rapidly grown

worUDg into public favour, it has hitherto been mainly confined to
the middle and upper ranks of society. Few efforts have
as yet been made to bring it within the reach of the
lower classes, and the only Towns which have adopted the
Turkish Bath under the Act are Ashton-under-Lyne,
Bradford, Bury, Cardiff, Hanley, Kidderminster, and
Stalybridge, notwithstanding that the poor, who are ill-
clad^ worse fed, and, as is too often the case, compelled to
live in badly ventilated and densely crowded houses, with
scarcely any accommodation for washing their clothing or
cleansing their bodies, are more in want of the boon than
the other ranks of society. Surely there can be no valid
reason why a blessing so real, so urgently required, and
of such proved utility should not be made available for the
working man and his family.
Turkish In this chapter I propose to discuss the comparative
Bath and merits of the Turkish Bath the warm lavatory system,

•warm ^ ** . . *i ^ 7

lavatory and the warm-water bathing provided in the baths and

wann *^ washhouses for cleansing the bodies of the labouring

baths. classes. I shall base my arguments upon physiological

grounds, trusting that I may be fortunate enough to

convince my readers that those adduced are sound.

CHij^. v.] 127

There is among tbe crowded populations of towns and Physical
cities, a constant tmidencj to physical detericwration — a ^lonr^'*'
perpetual gravitation of the standard of vitality to a lower
level — a depressing influence continually at work to impair
physical organisation and stunt mental growth ; hence the
necessity for a counteracting power to arrest this downward
course, by operating on the causes whence it proceeds.
Now, one of the most valuable results of sound sanitary
knowledge, is a thorough conviction of the preventi-
bility in a large degree of the vast mass of diseased
condition which physically and mentally depresses the
working population ; in short, a conviction that
the health of a community is in proportion to its
cleanliness.

In deciding therefore the character of the bath best Merits of
adapted to promote the comfort, health, and wel£ure of the bath.^^^^
people, we must be guided sdely by the qualities it
may inherently possess as a prophylactic agent That the
merits of the Hot-air Baths in this respect are such as to
admit of no rivalry, I think I can submit sufficient
evidence to prove.

The more enlightened portion of the public is fully alive
to the value of the Turkish Bath, and pretty nearly every-
thing that private speculation can do to place it at the
service of the people is being done. It only remains for
parochial enterprise to finish the good work, by adding it
to their Baths and Washhouses where they exist, and
establishing them conjointly where they do not.

Let us look for a moment at the condition, occupation,
and circumstances of the working man. He is subject to
many disadvantages. Although, living as he does from
hand to mouth, can least afford to be laid up, his
position is such that he is the most exposed to the
attacks of disease. His calling, residence, and mode of

130 [Chap. V.

Effects of Drs. Todd and Bowman, and Dr. Carpenter. TIio

moist and -, , .

dry air. fomier tell US that all the eflFects of excessive temperature
on the body are much more apparent with a moist than
with a dry atmosphere; because, in the case of a dry
atmosphere, a greater amount of evaporation takes places
and hence a greater quantity of heat is removed from
the skin. It would be impossible without inconvenience
to sustain a vapour bath at a temperature of 110^
to 120° for more than ten minutes, whereas, it has
been proved, the body may be without danger* ex-
posed for the same time to a dri/ temperature twice a&
high, or more.* Erasmus Wilson, in his work "On the
Management of the Skin," speaks of the influence of a
moist atmosphere, at an elevated temperature, on the
human system. I may adduce the effects occasioned to a
gentleman who recently visited the Baths of Nero, near
PozzuoH, the ancient Posidianse. To reach the bath, he
had to pass along a narrow winding passage of about 120
yardp in length, and seven feet high, by about three in
breadth. A little within the mouth of the passage, the
temperature was 104° in the upper stratum of the atmo-
sphere, and 91° near the ground ; further on, the air was
filled with a dense vapour, of a temperature of 118° above.

*Tbe experiments related bj Drs. Watson and Carpenter are truly
wonderful. One girl remained in an oven for ten minutesi with the
tbermometer at 280 deg. ; another for five minutes, while it rose to 325
deg., or 113 deg. above the boiling polpt of water. Others remained in
while eggs were roasted quite hard in twenty minutes, and beefsteaks wer©
dressed in thirty -three minutes, and when air was blown upon the meat by
means of bellows it was sui&ciently cooked in thirteen minutes. In all
these experiments it was found that the animal heat, as ascertained by
thermometers placed under the tongue, was scarcely increased at all, and
none of the experimenters were in the smallest way injured. "We are told
also by Dr. Carpenter, that Chabert, called " the Fire King," was in the habit
of entering an OTcn, the temperature of which was from 400 to 600 deg.

Chap. V.] 131

and 111° below ; and over the bath it was 122®, the heat
of the spring being 185^ After proceeding for about
one-third the length of the passage, he began to feel a
sense of oppression and discomfort, his pulse rising from
70 to 90 beats in the minute. A short distance further,
the oppression increased^ his breathing became rapid and
panting, and he was under the necessity of stooping his
head frequently to the earth, in order to obtain a chestful
of air of a less suffocating temperature. His skin at this
time was bathed in a profuse perspiration, his head throb- •
bing, and his pulse beating 120 in a minute. Continuing
his progress, the sensation of suffocation became insup-
portable; his head felt as though it would burst; his
pulse was so rapid as to defy calculation; he was ex^
hausted, and nearly unconscious, and it required all his
remaining power to enable him to hurry back to the open
air. On reaching the mouth of the passage, he staggered,
and nearly fainted, and was very uncomfortable until
relieved by a bleeding from the nose. During the rest
of the day his pulse remained at 100; he had uneasy
sensations over the surface of the body, and did not re- •
cover until after a night's repose. The same gentleman
bore a temperature of 176° in dry air without incon-
venience. Dr. Carpenter says that a heated atmosphere. Dr. Car-
loaded with moisture, interferes with the cooling influence Seated at?
of perspiration, and by the heat of the body pulsation be- mosphere.
comes injuriously augmented ; and, again, that a moist-
heated atmosphere obstructs the elimination of excremen-
titious matters from the blood through the lungs and skin.
With the hot-air bath, the immediate action on the skin
is at once felt. Slight perspiration is induced without
bodily fatigue or relaxation, whilst a genial, exhilarating
influence is diffused over the whole system. In this way
the skin is assisted, and not obstructed, in the perform-

132 Chap. V.]

ance of its vital functions, while the whole of the bodily
organism is benefited^ both from a medical and sanitary
point of view.
Advanta- Besides^ properly administered, the hot-air bath has
air bath, the singular advantage of combining with its own peculiar
merits all that -is valuable in water bathing, because
practically it is a hot-air, a warm-water, and a cold-
water bath — the virtues of all three combined in one
— hot air being the medium for all forms of water
^ applications. It is also equally applicable to the healthy
and the infirm ; neither youth nor age circumscribes its
utility ; and there are few individuals whose constitutional
peculiarities or idiosyncrasies would render its action in
their case at all dubious. The temperature for all its
applications can be modified so as not to bo injurious to
the most delicate and susceptible constitution. It is this
singularly happy characteristic which renders the hot-air
bath so suited to become, as regards the additional
requirements of society, an institution for all classes.

There is, however, a very prevalent opinion that the
hot-air bath is not so applicable to the working classes as to
those above them, on account of its supposed weakening
effects ; an expenditure which the former, subjected as
they are to the daily waste of bodily tissues, can ill afford.
Now, there can be no stronger counter proof to this than
the fact that the sick become strong and^healthy from its
use, and that those who indulge in it after a hard and
fatiguing day's labour feel refreshed and invigorated on
coming out of it.
Mrs.Dono- Mrs. Donovan, in her little work, " Illness : its Caus6
opinion, and Cure," say s : "We confidently promise our readers
they will lose nothing in the bath that it would be benefi-
cial to retain, and that, whatever may be their state of
health, its certain tendency is to make them stronger,

Chap. V.] 133

more vigorous, and less liable to disease." Dr. Andrew Dr. a.

Combe says: "The Turkish Bath increases, instead of^™.^*®
• , , opinion.

exhausting, the strength, and by exciting the vital action
of the skin gives rise to a power of reaction which enables
the body to resist the cold much better than before." Mn
Urquhart is of the same opinion. He asks, *^ Is extreme
perspiration weakening? Is very profuse perspiration
^^eakening ? because these objections are raised by people
who are ignorant. Assuredly not. No substance goes
out from you by perspiration except the noxious matter
that you ought to get rid of."

" If you go into the bath heavy and jaded," says Dr.
Brereton (proprietor of a magnificent Turkish Bath in ton's
Sydney, Australia), '^ even though you have been up and ^^P^^o'i*
working all night, you come out refreshed ; if from grief
or care you are desponding when you enter, your heart is
lightened before you leave, for it is impossible to resist
the exhilarating effects of oxygen : if, on the other handj
from the reaction of over-excitement, you are restless and
unable to sleep, the bath becomes a narcotic. It is only
the experienced physician who knows how many forms of
disease originate in these so common, but now so easily
obviated causes." ^' Tims the bath," as Dr. Thudichum,
one of the physicians of St. Thomas's Hospital, observes,
"is an engine for the production and maintenance of
health." I think, therefore, from the evidence on this point,
that we may rely with some confidence on the conclusion
indicated by common sense, namely, that which tends with
such potency to restore and maintain health, cannot pos-
sibly have, at the very same time, a directly contrary

efiect.

If the admitted action of the bath, properly employed, Bath pre-
indubitably is to preserve health — as all competent authori- health.
ties unanimously testify ; surely it is needless, to occupy

134 [Chap. V.

time in proving so self-evident a proposition that such
action is wholly incompatible with another diametrically
the reverse, with imputed tendencies to weaken and
impair vital functions! The two actions or tendencies
could not co-exist. It would be absurd beyond expres-
sion to suppose, that at the same time the bath could
weaken and strengthen, preserve health and impair it,
operate as a debilitating drain on vitality, and prove a
source of recuperative energy and enjoyment. Yet this
preposterous conclusion would be imposed on us by those
who, unacquainted with the subject, allow prejudice to
override reason, and without judgment affirm that the
bath process has a debilitating effect.
Value of In confirmation of this view, and in further proof of the

Turkish .

Baths to value of the bath to the working classes, I may here refer

?^J^ to the experience of a gentleman who is an extensive

agriculturist in Ireland, and whose knowledge of its

merits induced him to construct one on his farm for tlia

benefit of his stock, and ultimately it was made use of for

his farm labourers. His remarks are: — **At first my

labourers declined to go in, on the ground that they had

lost enough by work, and could not stand any more

perspiration. One of them broke down on a hot day

when mowing. I said to him, ' Now you are done for a

week or so, you may as well try the bath.' He went in

and had a vigorous shampooing. The next day he took the

lead in the meadow. That night the space could not

accommodate the applicants. The preservation of health

among farm labourers is no small matter. My farm

servants often work willingly through wet, windy days,

well knowing that an hour in the hot room will send them

home in dry clothes. This habit gives them also the

power of enduring cold. Many have dispensed with

flannel, even some at advanced ages. Ail find themselves

Chap. V.] 135

■

in better health, freer from rheumatic pains, and firmer in
muscle."

But even suppose the hot-air bath was as weakening as Turkwh
it is erroneously imagined to be, the objection has no ccnantLn
force, it forms no part of my proposition to be always with baths
giving a working man a sweating bath. What 1 houaos.
advocate is the addition of the Turkish Bath to the Jjaths .
and washhouses which exist or may exist under the Act
of Parliament which sanctions their establishment, as
an invaluable sanitary agent, to which the working
classes would soon learn to resort in incipient disorders,
instead of having recourse to nostrums and quack remedies,
which, if they do no actual harm, allow a malady
to become so inveterate as to throw the sufferer into the
hospital, and perhaps his family upon the parish. For all Batherg
ordinary purposes of ablution, a modification of the Turkish late the
Bath in the form of a warm lavatory, at a temperature of J®"™P®^^"
from 110° to 115° is suggested, in which the bather is
supplied with plenty of hot and cold water, so that, if
desirous, he can graduate his bath to suit himself, and
finish off with a tepid or cold spray bath. By this means
he obtains a thorough wash, in absolute comfort, and free
from any risk of taking cold. No doubt the first sensa-
tion of warmth imparted by the heated water is very
agreeable, but this soon subsides with the falling tempera-
ture of the bath, and is followed bv an acute sense of
discomfort which can only be relieved by a renewed
supply of water at a higher temperature, which process
must be continued so long as the bather remains in the
water ; and such repeated changes of temperature are
frequently attended with unpleasant consequences.
Besides, a bath of this kind has a decided tendency to
induce relaxation and lassitude, rendering the system
highly susceptible to the influence of cold, a state of

136 [Chap. V.

things which working men, less than any others, can
support.
Disadvan- Let US for a moment glance at some of the disadvantages

taffes of .

the Warm of taking a warm bath. It can be had for two pence,
B^th ' which is of course a great boon in a pecuniary point of
view ; but a person goes to take a warm bath say, on a
cold, wet, disagreeable night in winter ; ho is shown into
a room scarcely large enough for him to turn round in^
at a temperature perhaps of 50^ ; here he undresses him-
self, and gets into a bath containing about fifty gallons of
water at a temperature of from 98° to 100°. Hiis is very
grateful to the poorly fed body, and he feels inclined to
prolong his enjoyment ; but the time arrives for him to
get out, when, during the operation of drying and dressing
liimself he is again exposed to a temperature of 50^ ! His
system being considerably relaxed by being twenty minutes
in warm water, he is really less able to endure the cold
than before he bathed. The consequence is that he
shivers and shakes while dressing, and goes into the wet
chilly air trembling with cold. Eeturning home thoroughly
uncomfortable, and with a rooted antipathy to the bath, if
nothing worse occur. Every reasonable person must
admit that no bath is preferable to one under such condi-
tions; therefore, the cheap warm bath, eight months in
the year, practically becomes a dead letter.

The disadvantages attending the warm bath for men>
are still more marked in the case of women, from their more
delicate organization, their sedentarj'- habits, and their
readier susceptibility to climatic influences. This may
account in a measure for the difficulty experienced
by Mrs. Donovan and other benevolent ladies in pre-
vailing upon them to submit to periodical ablutions;
in fact, the sudden alternations of temperature to
which tlve hot water bath exposes them are extremely

Chap. V.] 137

dangerous, and have been known to prove fatal. There
is another reason no less potent with the female sex
for not taking advantage of the bath, viz., tjie supposition
that, from the nature of their occupations, and from
not perspiring so freely as men, skin cleansing is not
so necessary — an opinion as prejudicial as it is fallacious.
If there could be any degree of comparison in a matter
of such necessity, I would say that women require the
purification obtained by the bath even more than men,
both on account of their sedentary habits and occupa-
tions, and the natural peculiarity of their organizations.
Nor is a proper bath less beneficial than grateful to
women ; and when their prejudices against bathing are
removed, they become its ardent admirers. Not only
have the fair sex found it advantageous- with reference
to those ailments and idiosyncrasies to which they are
subject, but a great enhancer and perpetuator of their
good looks, and we know of no means so effectual
for rendering the complexion more delicate and brilliant.
In countries where the Turkish Bath is a national
institution, the hair of the women is peculiarly beautiful
and luxuriant.

We have pourtrayed the working man presenting Comforts
himself for a warm bath ; now let us compare the ^ tath^ "
warm lavatory process. The same individual, under ''^^^^^
the same conditions, presents himself at the lavatory, man.
After undressing, he is introduced to a room having
a temperature of 110^ to 115°, and is provided with
soap, towels, hair-brush, &c. The warm and genial
atmosphere is grateful to him, so that he can give
himself a thorough good scrubbing with an ease and
comfort which none can understand but those who have
experienced them. While in this room his system is pre-
pared for the application of colder water, say at 75° or 80%

138

[Chap. V.

Hot-air
baths can
be used
ataU
seasons.

or as his inclination suggests. This causes a reaction, and
produces a contraction of the pores of the skin. He now
takes his towels, returns to the room in which he left
his clothes, and, having dressed, walks forth into the open
air with a perfect feeling of comfort, reaches home
warm, invigorated, clean, and enchanted with the hath,
saying, in his own mind^ ^^ I will repeat the operation once
or twice a week."

This bath can be used all the year round with comfort
and benefit, and presents a striking contrast to the
warm water process. In fact, there are virtually but
four months in the year when a warm bath can be
taken with comfort; so that in this respect alone the
system of the warm lavatory possesses an advantage
which, from a pecuniary point of view, would warrant its
introduction into all baths and washhpuses* During the
.winter months, in consequence of the low temperature^
the skin is lethargic, and deleterious substances are
retained within the system; or, if thrown on to the surface
of the skin, they are re-absorbed^ henee, at that season
of the year, more than at any other, frequent and thorough
bathing is necessary ; and, to be effective, it must be of a
kind to meet the requirements of the case. The cuticle
must be softened, and the whole skin gently stimulated
into action by hot air, before the impurities can be
removed by washing. In summer, the skin is much more
active, and the deleterious substances retained are less in
quantity; consequently, bathing can be dispensed with
less danger and inconvenience than in winter; and
yet, because the baths provided are so unsuitable^ the
workiAg man is precluded from bathing at the very season
of the year wlien it is most required I Within my own
expmence, the upper and middle classes use the
Turkish Bath much more in the winter season than

Chap. V.] 139

in the summer ; and it is only reasonable to suppose that,
if equal facilities were offered to the working classes,
who, from the nature of their employment, need the bath
more than any other claBs, the same result would be
obtained.

It is urged in many quarters that cold bathing while I'allacy of
the body is hot is injurious ; indeed it is very commonly whenthe
supposed, even by medical men, that such a practice, when ^^ ^®
the body is considerably heated either by exercise or other
exertion, is highly dangerous ; and accordingly it is a
general custom with bathers who find themselves over-
heated to wait until they become cool before they plunge
or bathe in cold or even cool water.

Years ago Sir Arthur Clarke, in his essay on bathing,
examined the objection and showed its fallacy ; instancing,
in support of his opinion, the fact ^' that in Dublin it was
common, in his time, for workmen in glass-housed and
other manufactories near the Lifiey, exposed to extra-
ordinary degrees of temperature, and enduring for
some time the consuming heat of the furnaces, to plunge
into the river — a practice which they found in no way
injurious, but preserved their health." Edgar Sheppard, Dr. Shep-
M.D., referring to the same notion, says ^'Now, wishing g^ath-
in sober seriousness to point out to English men and ^s-
women of the upper and middle classes what they are
really doing to lay the foundations of disease in their young
families, let us accompany them to one of our fashionable
seaside watering places. Hither come the young and
delicate to drink in health from the breezes, and new life
from the waters of the sea. Down to the bathing machines
day by day, in all weathers alike, under care of father and
mother, or governess, or nurse, troop these poor creatures,
to be soused by some remorseless old mermaid draped in
blue serge. The cruel and ignorant, but well-meant

140 [Chap. V.

iDJunctions of parents are complied with, each little bather
beiDg thoroughly cooled before he is subjected to that
which will make him shiver for hours afterwards. In
other words, instead of acquiring caloric, wherewith to
meet the depressing shock of cold water, he is made to
part with as much caloric as possible, because tradition
has written with her iron fingers upon the nursery tablets.
Thou shalt not bathe ichen thou art hot What is the
result? See it immediately in the chattering teeth, the
blanched cheeks and fingers, the numbed feet of the
young bathers, as they walk for hours afterwards upon
the beach or esplanade — the strongest, perhaps, success-
fully, the weakest unsuccessfully — to restore the power
of vigorous circulation. Every internal organ has been
congested for varying periods, and the skin, which, by
a well-regulated bath should be brought into the highest
play, has been shrivelled up into dry and functionless
parchment. See the result afterwards on the return
home, in chlorotic looks, in constipated bowels, in
susceptibility of cold, in general langour, in- vitiated
appetite, in scurfy and unsecreting skin." This is no
exaggerated picture. This is actually and absolutely the
bath of the great majority of the upper and middle classes
during a few months every summer. Where the means
and opportunities of getting to the seaside do not present
themselves, the boys of each family resort to rivers and
ponds and observe the same rules under the strictest
Bathingin parental injunction. And when some unlucky youth
p^S *^^ returns home shivering and complaining of pain and
langour — when the seeds of his deadly sowing are
beginning to crop up in pleurisy, or pneumonia, or
peritonitis — he is reproached with not having followed
the advice' given him, to cool himself thoroughly before
getting into the water. Poor boy 1 he followed it too

Chap. V.] 141

closely^ and thereby perilled his young life. Had he
plunged into the stream when hot, he T^rould have
treasured up for himself boundless health and vigour.
We have witnessed this over and over again in our
younger days. It is only where the use of the Turkish
Bath is known that there is a chance of society being
rescued from the perilous tradition to which we have first
directed the attention of our readers.

There is another objection urged against the availa- Time, an
bility of the Turkish Bath for the labouring classes, jJ^^xJirWah
viz., that it takes too. much time — that the working man Baths for
cannot aflford to spend from an hour and. a half to two classes!"^
hours in the bath. This objection had in the onset pre-
sented itself very strongly to my mind, but considering
that, in the case of the artizan, the time may be reduced
to the same period as in taking a warm bath, all those
accessories and accompaniments which mainly consume
the time in taking the bath can bo dispensed with^ with-
out in the least affecting its efficacy. In Turkey and
other Eastern countries where the use of the bath is
both a habit and a religious duty among all grades,
but especially so witli the working classes, the latter
do not occupy more time in bathing than our London
working men could well spare for that purpose once or
twice a week, were they so disposed. Dr. Millingen,
Physician to the Sultan, informs us that ** the working
classes among the Turks — for such classes (though in
England you appear to ignore it) do exist, and are as
numerous and fully more hard-working than elsewhere —
know of no other means of prevention, on feeling indis-
posed, but the bath After over-exertion, again^

the bath is had recourse to If a Moslem enters

the bath for the object of ablution, half an hour is amply
sufficient Have, forsooth, the English no

142

[Chap. V.

Shampoo-
ing not a
necessary-
process.

holidays? Do they never find time for cofiee-houses,
taverns, and gin-palaces ? "

"Without insisting on the fact that the working classes
do spend nmch time in taverns and public-houses^ I doubt
if it is the question of time which deters them from the
bath, but the discomfort attending it. If warm lavatories
or Turkish Baths were added to the Baths and Wash-
houses^ this superior method of bathing would induce the
labouring poor to take a sweating bath occasionally,
thus procuring free perspiration counteracting the influence
of their unhealthy occupations, and preventing an incredible
amount of disease and consequent destitution. The whole
process need not occupy more than an hour.*

It is often asserted that the shampooing process is a
necessary accompaniment of the Turkish Bath, and to
leave it out would be to do away with an essential part of
the system.; such, however, is not the case. That it
is an operation of great sanitary value, and, under
certain conditions, highly beneficial, cannot be denied.
For instance, where from infirmity or other cause
there is an indisposition or inability to take exercise,
judicious, scientific shampooing may in a measure supply
the deficiency. It also tends to fortify the system where
there is enervation induced by indolence or luxurious
living. Mr. Urquhart accounts for the &ne phi/sique of
the chiefs of the Sandwich Islands by the fact that,
although sunk in sloth and immorality, they are in the
constant habit of being shampooed after every regular
meal, and oftener if desirable or expedient. In the case of
English workmen there is little if any need for such forti-
fication. The artizan is generally subject to far difierent
influences than those arising from too little work and too
much food; his daily labour necessitates bodily exer-

* See Medical Chapter.

Chap. V.] 143

tion sufBcient without Iiavisg resort to artificial means to
keep up the tone of the system. It would only be neces-
sary to resort to the shampooing process in case of sick*
ness. The beneficial effects of warm lavatories or the
Turkish Bath can be secured at a small cost if divested of
the luxuries and superfluities.

It is from a consideration of these facts, based as they
are on medical science and extensive experience^ that I
have come to the conclusion^ that for all purposes^ either
of a sanitary or recreative nature^ this form of bath is
saperior to the ordinary warm water one. Hence, I
consider that the former is peculiarly adapted to meet the
requirements of the working population and ought in
consequence to become a national institution, the people's
bath 'par excellence.

We have thus seen that, not only is the Turkish Bath Turkish
the most perfect means of ablution, and, consequently, o^ ^e^tethe
cleanliness, but also one of the most powerful hygienic working
and prophylactic agencies that we know of; and that^ as a
natural result, it affords a most potent means of acting
upon the unfavourable conditions by which the artizan and
labouring classes are surrounded^ and so of elevating them
* physically and morally. Mrs. Donovan, one of the most
active and disinterested pioneers of this movement in
Ireland, tlius speaks in reference to the Turkish Bath for
the poor of Cork : '^ It is our pleasing duty to record the
success of an experiment^ the adoption of which through-
out the land would act as a mighty lever to elevate the
masses, and a grand educational agency to enlighten their
minds as to the nature and necessities of their bodies.
Filthy habits and ignorance, the grand and inseparable
correlates of disease and immorality, have at last found an
antagonist fit to grapple with their giant power. Legis-
lation and Philanthrophy have hitherto trained and

144 [Chap. V.

cultivated the efiect, while no scheme of sufficient
thoroughness has been propounded to deal with the cause.
We believe this desideratum is supplied by the experience
of our indomitable friends in Cork. If it is desired to
improve the individual^ operate upon his circumstances,
especially his physical organism — that nearest relation to
the soul immortal, the intellectual faculties and moral
feeling — cleanse his body without and within, and the
purposes of life will at once wear a new aspect to him.

No person has a right to live in filth, engender

disease, and endanger the health of the neighbourhood.

Nor has society any right to allow it. They are the worst

enemies of the public weal who would obstruct or stand

aloof from such a wcJrk as this."

H.M's In- Her Majesty's Inspector, in his report of St. Patrick's

S^Oioofs.^ Reformatory School, Upton, Cork, says: '^The Turkish

testimony, gj^^jj ^]^q jg j^ valuable adjunct, in a sanitary point

of view ; and considering the class from which the
inmates are derived, and the condition in which they
are admitted, often covered with skin-disease, I would
wish to see such an appliance in every similar establish-
ment." Dr. Cummins, of Cork, author of a pamphlet
on the Turkish Bath, thus writes : ** The bath is lai'gely

made available by the lower orders in Cork

I can* also speak in favour of its effect upon their
general habits and constitutions; although it is
now twelve years since my pamphlet was published,
increased experience has confirmed almost every-
thing it contains, and has made me value it more and
more."
Recom- Such then, is the general testimony in favour of the

menda- Turkish. Bath, of the sanative properties it possesses, and
its adaptability to meet the ablutionary wants of the people
at large. That it offers advantages attainable by no other

Chap, v.] 145

means is admitted by those who, having tested its meritS|
are best acquainted with their value; assuredly the
most direct, effective^ and economical way to promote the
health, comfort, and welfare of our industrial population
would bo to construct warm lavatories and hot-air
chambers in connection with the public baths that are
already established. This would involve little cost,
be a good commencement towards having proper baths
erected in every dispensary district, and prove an
invaluable boon to the people. In an address to the
London Medical Society, Dr. Thudichum said respecting Dr.Thudi-
the bath : ^^ A boon to mankind, your nation, and every testimoaT.
individual in this room, hot air, combined with cold
affusions, with shampooing, with exposure of the body to
light and air, await your approval as medical agents, and
your application to those who are under your care. I
hope you will seize the opportunity, and secure for this
society a share in the merits similar to that of which
Hippocrates was proud, of having introduced the bath in
the treatment of disease."

When we consider that these observations, so justly The Batk
eulogistic of the therapeutic virtues of the bath, are ^^y^i^goot
equally true of its invaluable merits as a powerful prophy-
lactic agent in repelling the approaches of disease, surely
it cannot be held consistent with the practical intelligence
and philanthropic aims of our day, that so potent, so
genial, so economical, and so salutary an agent for good
should be overlooked or neglected by those who are
charged with the responsibility of attending to the sanitary
condition .of the people. Health is the working man's
capital, in the preservation of which society at large is
deeply interested ; and by what better means can health
be protected than by the prevention of disease? There is

little wisdom in ** locking the stable door when the steed
L

146 [Chap, V.

has been stolen.*' Yet sometliing akin to this guides
our municipal and parochial affairs.
Turlrisli I have endeavoured to set forth in as brief a manner as
the people P^^®^^^® the advantages which would result from the
at Netting addition of warm lavatories, and hot-air baths in connection
with public baths and washhouses. The arguments here
maintained are not the issue of mere theorizing and idle
speculation, but the result of the study and experience of
years. I am thoroughly convinced of the necessity of
this form of bath as a means of improving the sanitary
condition of the labouring population, and have been
for years endeavouring to impress the public mind with its
importance. It was with this aim that I, at considerable
inconvenience, opened a Turkish Bath at " The Bagged
Castle and Workman's Hall," Netting Hill, in connection
with an Hydropathic Dispensary, twelve years ago.
Although this bath was discontinued at the end of eighteen
months^ on account of fear being entertained that the
ilue would set fire to the building, and the usual prejudice
and opposition to a new thing, nevertheless, the results
were such as to convince me more than ever of the in-
calculable benefits that would accrue from the establishment
of commodious Turkish Baths adapted to the wants and
means of artizans and labourers. The facts of this case
are open to investigation, and I am sure that any one who
will take the trouble to inquire into them will come to the
conclusion that we could not confer a greater boon on the
working population, and the community at large, than by
establishing such baths, both for sanitary and medical
purposes.
Summary To sum up briefly, I advocate the use of the hot-air
Reason, hath, or the lavatory, a modification of it, as admirably
fitted to be a bath for the people, principally for the
following reasons :—

Chap. V.] 147

Because, as a general rule, it is coDgenial to the
constitutional peculiarities of all mankind, and therefore
capable of beneficial uses, without any fear of such
injurious consequences as too frequently follow from water
bathing.

Because it does not debilitate or weaken in any way,
but exercises a restorative, strengthening, invigorating
influence over the wearied body, soothes nervous irritability, .
and imparts a buoyant, healthful influence to the whole
system, with great pleasurable feeling, promptitude, and
certainty.

And, finally, because, independent of its acknowledged
therapeutic and prophylactic merits in the treatment
of disease, it is the very best agent that has yet been
discovered for the preservation of health. Its habitual use
fortifies the system to repel deleterious influences that are
always more or less active in propagating disease — such as
the baneful influences arising from malaria, generated by
defective drainage or sewerage, from contagious poisons
and atmospheric impurity, as well as from more ordinary
cfiects. A knowledge of these facts will account for the
confidence here expressed in the hot-air bath nor will any
regard it as other than the expression of a genuine feeling.

This thermo-electrical influence, combined with the Roman
gymnastics of the Roman Thermae, made the Boman Thermw.
soldiers great in strength and endurance, whether on the
march or in the battle-fleld. Nothing can tend more to
develop muscle, expand the frame, and promote the Turkish
general strength, so as to put the man in the best condi- Baths pro-
tionfor running, fighting, wrestling, or any other form of strength,
physical exertion. *^ Wind, limb " and general condition
depend on the quality of the blood, and that upon the
rapidity with which it is decarbonized, oxygenized, and
Ihft. watery p-^rtions of it changed, all which processes are

148 [Chap. V.

facilitated by the bath in a remarlable degree, owing to
its action upon the blood through the skin. The entrance
of the air through the millions of opened pores, signally
aids the action of the heart and lungs, increasing the
** wind '* power, so valuable to the athlete.

These facts are fully understood by the horse trainer,
Tvho now directs much of his attention to keeping the
animal's skin and wind in good order by means of the
bath, the use of which supersedes the necessity for excessive
exercise, so sparing the vitality of both horse and jockey.
Pugilists also, however objectionable their calling, show^
their sagacity by employing the bath in their training, as
likewise do pedestrians, all bearing testimony to the fact
that the thermo-electrical and gymnastic powers of the bath
are appreciated by those most interested, and from their
experience, most competent to judge.
Effects of The health and muscular development of our soldiers
^ B^h" *^® ^^ ®^^^ importance to the nation, that it is agreeable
on the to find that a beginning has been made to bring the army
^""^' under the influence of the ThermaB as part of their train*
ing. It will promote the psycho-physical health and
athletic energy of' the men, and so make them better fit
for the fatigues and energies of war, as well as elevate
their morals^ by preserving them from certain enervating
and. ruinous habits, the result of ennui and» idleness. It
would prevent the necessity of Acts of Parliament, author-
izing the inspection of certain classes, whose contact with
soldiers leads to the decimation of the army by prevent*
ible diseases.
Condition. In truth, for the promotion of personal cleanliness^
imparting buoyant sensations, and keeping the bodies of
men and animals in that state known as condition — a state
wherein there is a healthy balance of * the nutritive
functions, an exact equipoise of the solids and fluids, and

[CuAP. V. 149

of the fatty and muscular tissues, together with a just
equilibrium of the supply and waste — the Turkish Bath is
unrivalled. As a means of preserving health amongst the Health is
pent-up inhabitants of towns, who, generally speaking, ^'^®'^^^'
do not have air and exercise sufficient, either in quantity
or quality, to properly decarbonize or oxygenize the blood,
its value is beyond calculation. It does much to compen-
sate for deficiency of air and exercise, giving appetite
strengthening digestion, and imparting elasticity to mind
and body. It affects the system more powerfully than
any kind of manual exercise, or gymnastic or sport, even
as to the points wherein the excellence of these consists,
and can be frequently enjoyed when these cannot^

Disease is prevented by hardening the body against the Disease
effects of variations and vicissitudes of temperature, which P^^®^
is of incalculable advantage in a climate so variable as
ours ; also, by imparting power to resist miasmatic and
zymotic influences, and by strengthening the system
against the aberrations of nutrition, and the prolific train
of evils that follow the disturbance and derangement of the
nutritive functions ; and, furthermore, by correcting,
eradicating, or keeping in subjection, inherited predis-
positions to disease.

The Malaise J brought about by over excitement of the MaJaise
brain, combined with underworked limbs, lungs, and appear,
skin, by indolence and luxury, and by the demons of
hypochondriasis, biliousness and dyspepsia, would disappear
were Turkish Baths to become thoroughly national, and
ordinary water baths would be superseded to a great
extent in our public bathing establishments. The
cadaverous look of the overwrought and anxious citizen
would be exchanged for the ruddy hue of health. The
poor would find a solace which would deprive the gin
palace of its attractions. Skin diseases would be entirely

150 [Chap. V.

f

prevented, consumption and gout would be as rare in i

England as in Turkey, medical men's services would be as
seldom called for in London as, for many centuries, tliey
were in ancient Rome. Fewer hospitals would suffice for
the public wants, and lunatic asylums would be deprived
of half their inmates. The Thermos would prove to the
body what the Bible is to the soul, and the inHuence of
both combined would make, nearly universal amongst all
classes of the commonwealth, the greatest of all the
sources of happiness, mens sana in corpere sano.

1

Lcial
it-

>ftlio
lir

1

Chap. VI.] 151

CHAPTER VI.

KCONOUICS OF THE HOT-AIB BATH.

** Economy is half the battle of life ; it is not so hard to earn money
as to spend it well." — Sfuuoeon.

HAVING glanced at the history, philosophy, and Financial
prophylactic virtues of the Turkish Bath, with a view Lesof the
of showing its superiority over every other system of Hot-air
bathings I now propose to discuss the financial advantages
to be derived by the addition of the hot-air or Turkish
Bath to the people's baths and washhouses, making them
more lucrative concerns than they have been hitherto, or
can become under their present arrangement.

My scheme for the adaptation of the hot-air bath to the
needs and circumstances of the working classes compre-
hends^ as already stated, two separate features^ namely, .
first, to give an ordinary Turkish Bath for sixpence—
a sum quite within the reach of the working classes ;
and, secondly, to provide the facility for a perfectly
cleansing ablution in a lavatory, heated to from 100? to
115®, for twopence. The plan appended to this chapter
will give the reader a better idea of the improved bath
for the working classes than any explanation, unac-
companied by it, could possibly do. It will be seen
on reference to the plan, that the washing rooms of
the lavatory and Turkish Bath are each divided into

152 [Chap. VL

fourteen compartments or stalls, which are provided with
a basin and supplied with hot and cold water. The
bather is thus enabled to take his soap washing apart
and to adjust the temperature of it exactly to suit his
taste or requirements ; he can then finish off with a spray
or shower-bath, which may either form a part of the
appurtenances of each stall, or be fitted up in a com-
partment to itself, available for all bathers.
Cost of The Turkish Bath, as erected and administered in this

Tm^Sh * country, has always been considered costly, and associated
Bath and with a large expenditure of time, a Ijiixury the poor cannot
Lavatories Possibly indulge in ; and this has always been broached
as one of the chief obstacles to the success of this scheme
for working classes. The first outlay, it is argued, would
preclude any parochial authority from providing Turkish
Baths upon the poor rates, because the Act limits them
to the maximum charge of sixpence for each person: a
price which, it is thought, would never recoup them for
the original cost. If, however, I can show that a bath,
in every way efficient, can be built and maintained at a
much less cost than those erected on the present system,
then, I think, all such arguments must fall to the ground.
Estimate The following estimate for building a Turkish Bath in
inga^ " accordance with the plan has been carefully prepared
B^iK^a ^y ^ builder of considerable practical experience and

Warm judgment: —
Lavatories

ESTIMATE.

To excayate the entire area to the depth of one foot, and the foundation
three feet, put in nine inch glazed stoneware drain-pipes and aU
the necessary branch pipes throughout.

The foundations to he laid on concrete one foot thick and twice the width
of the wall, ccn'^rete the floors of warm lavatory, hot room, tepid
room, and washing room, with six inches of good concrete on sound
bottom.

Chap. VI.] 153

I

To Luild all the walls with proper footings, and the damp course in slate Estimate
and cement, cutting all arches, mitres, &c., as specified on the plan, for build-
and supplying the necessary scaffolding. - m ^ i^. <>

To excavate the stoke-hole, and build furnace and flue with best fire Bath,
bricks, tiles, and fire clay.

To construct roof over the building as may be required to cover in the
cisterns.

The girders and zone to be of sufficient strength to carry the large tanks,
. and all floors under the cisterns to be lined with stout zinc.

To pave the hot room, tepid room, washing room, and warm lava-
tory, with red and black lozenge-shaped tiles neatly jointed, and
line the walls to the height of 6 feet with Baflord's white glazed
bricks, neatly pointed in cement.

The dressing-rooms to have 1^ inch yellow batten lining laid upon 4 by 2^
inch joists, and 4 by 3 inch oak sleepers, upon 4^ inch sleeper walls.
The walls to be battened and lined with 3^ inch yellow matchboard,
and the divisions between the compartments to be 2 inch framed
partitions, double panels with narrow boards tongued and champered,
champered framing with circular headed front. Mahogany curtain
poles and rings, and deal seat to each compartment.

The diviHions between the washing compartments to be of slate 1 inch
thick, properly fixed to rails at the top ; each compartment to be pro-
vided with marhle or other basin for washing, and supplied with
hot and cold water, and a spray or shower bath.

The whole of the inside wood work to be carefully stained and twice
varnished, the outside wood work to have four coats of paint, oak
grainel and twice Tarnished.

The windows to be sashed and glazed with ground or matted glass.

Sir,

I have carefully considered the plans and specifications for building
a Turkish Bath and Warm Lavatories, and I am aware of the necessity
of solidity of workmanship, good drainage and water supply, as- well as
the costly nature of the materials required, having had twenty years
practical experience in the working of your Baths.

The Bath can be built, and be satisfactory in every detail, for the
sum of £2500, or with a second story added to be used as washing and
drying rooms for £500 extra, exclusive of fittings, making £3000. The
two story building completely fitted with necessary pipes, trays, &c.
£3600.

. . CHARLES FRENCH.

68, Lisson Grove, Marylebone,

154 [Chap. VL

In the builder's estimate of £3500 provision is made for
an upper story which would accommodate .about twenty

washing tubs^ and corresponding rooms fox ironing and
drying.

While I have every reason to believe that the figures
named by Mr. French are fairly accurate^ yet experience has
proved that it is best to leave a large margin for extras.
I have, therefore, allowed £1500, making the cost £5000,
but if Turkish Baths were erected in connection with Warm
Baths I have no doubt the building would be completed
for the price named in the builder's estimate.
Capabili- Baths erected upon the plan would be capable of bath-
Bath. * ^ '^S ^^^^ ^^-^^ ^ 2^^^ P^^ y^'eek with ease, whereas,
warm water Baths erected at the same cost, would not
bathe more than one-fourth of the number I ha\re named.
Bathdeco- In the first place I would observe that generally
ra ions, ^jj^j^ public bodies commence an undertaking of this
kind, too much attention is paid to collateral advan-
tages — site, external appearance, decoration, &c., and too
little to the actual and immediate uses of the building as
such. Experience has taught me — and I don't think
I am peculiar in this respect — that, whether in building
or in clothing, it is the adornment that costs so much.
A woman may dress very neatly and becomingly for a
very modest sum, but add all the gimp, lace, and fur-
belows necessary to make her a lady of the period, and you
soon double or treble the amount, yet the inherent
value of the humanity under either adornment is the
same. So it is in building: a plain, substantial edifice
may be built for one-half the amount that might be
expended — to sum the matter up in one word — on
stjucco.

You might expend either £1500 or £3000 in the erec-
tion of an institution of a given size ; or, in other words.

Chap. VL] 155

it is possible to spend on decorations, &c., a sum equivalent
to the cost of the building itself. In doing this yon might
add greatly to its external beauty, but not one whit to its
internal utility. As a Turkish Bath^ the one costing £1500
would be equal in efficiency to that costing £3000. It is
all very well, if a parish can afford,* to double the expendi-
ture for the sake of securing a beautiful edifice ; but it
• must not be expected that a bathing establishm^it will
pay for the superfluous ornamentation, in addition to the
necessary outlay for a substantial building. It is generally
admitted that thousands of pounds are annually squandered
away on our public buildings, that might be saved and
still give all the internal comfort and accommodation they
were designed for ; and in my opinion Baths and Wash-
houses are no exception to this rule. In discussing the
desirability of making Baths and Washhouses self-support-
inor and remunerative institutions, it must be borne in
mind that regardless of any financial consideration they
are essentially sanitary institutions, exercising a powerful
influence upon the public health, tending to make hospitals,
asylums, and workhouses in less demand^ and should bo
classed with other sanitary agencies.

There are no baths that have cleared off" the first cost Testimony
of erection from their profits ; but if they have not paid in ^Tiutoii
one way they have in another. Mr. W. H. Green, of the Baths.
Town Council, Kidderminster, writing on Turkish Baths,
says — " Financially our baths have not paid, though they
have done much better than the most sanffuino
expected, and we consider we have received a high
per-centage in the good done to the poor." To the same
effect is the evidence of the manager of the Cardiff Baths
Company. He says, " I could give dozens of instances
in which men and women have been kept off the rates

* Ab is the. case in Paddington and St. George's, Hanover Square.

156 [Chap. VL

through the means of the Turkish Bath : people who could
not afford to pay a doctor, but who could, and did,
manage to come to the Turkish Bath, and got cured of
various forms of disease, principally rheumatism. Now, if
parish authorities wish to keep the poor from applying
to the parish doctor for common ailments, let them build
and encourage the use of Turldsh Baths ; if there should
be a small loss in the working expenses, they will find
that to be more than balanced by the increased health
of the inhabitants, and the consequent decrease, in the
number of hona-Jide working men applying for parish
relief."
Rate- Thus, in calculating the returns of a bath, it is necessary

shoSd ^^ ^^^ ^^^ account not only the direct but also the in-
advocate direct gains accruing. The experience of the managers of
TarKsh the Cardiff and Kidderminster Baths is not by any means
Baths. unique ; it is but the counterpart of that of all concerned
in the management of such establishments. If, therefore,
the annual balance-sheet of a bath does not show a large
actual nett profit to be placed against the original outlay
on the building, it will result in such an increase of health
a& to considerably lighten the rates, by keeping the poor
from falling sick and so becoming dependent upon the
parish. In this way, if not by direct profits, such baths
as proposed would soon pay for themselves, besides adding
considerably to the comfort and happiness of the working
classes. Looked at in this light the ratepayer should
advocate their erection, not merely on the ground of a
benevolent desire to benefit his fellow-townsmen, but on
the ground that by paying a little more for the prevention
of sickness and ill-health he would be going the right way
to reduce the claim upon him for the support of pauperism.
The Paddington Commissioners were asked to erect a plain
Turkish Bath and lavatory ; and the plan before alluded to

CSAP. VI.]

157

was submitted to them, that they might form an idea of
what n)ight be done at a small cost. In their wisdom this
was rejected, and, as a consequence, when the Turkish Bath
comes to be added to their baths (as I feel sure it will be at
no distant period to all baths and washhouses), the expense
will be very great, while the internal arrangements of the
building as a whole can never be so uniform and complete
as it might have been made in the first instance. My
desire was not to injure the baths and washhouse move-
ment, but to secure its popularity, by increased success,
both financially and sanitarily.

In order to show the advantage possessed by the Turkish ^thS'^^g^
Bath over the ordinary mode of bathing from an economical o^ Bathing
point of view, I have carefully prepared an estimate for sons. ^^
batliing 1000 persons by the two methods, assuming
the amount of capital required in each case to be £5000.

Estimate for bathing 1000 persons in warm-water
baths : —

Becbipts.
250 bathers at 6d. each ...
750 bathers at 2d. each ...
Discount on soap

£ s. d.

6 6

6 6

6

£12 16

Expenditure.

60,000 gallons of water at 6d. per
1000, equal to 60 gallons for
each bather ...

Heating water, 10 chaldrons of
coke at 14fl. ...

Attendance and linen

Wear and tear ... ••• ...

DCNip ••• •«• ••• . ••• •••

Interest on capital

£. ■. d

1 10

7
2 10

1

2 1
2 17

8
8

£16 19 4

Estimate for bathing 1000 persons ih the hot-air
baths and warm lavatories : —

Heceipts. £. 8. d.

260 hot-air baths at 6d. each ...6 6

750 warm lavatory baths at 2d.each6 6

Discount on soap 2

£12 12

EXPENDITUBE. £ B. d

20,000 gallons of water at 6d. per

1000 10

Heating b» th and water, 2^ chaJ- '

drons of coke at lis. 115

Attendance and linen 5

Soap 16

Wear and tear 15

Interest on capital 2 17 8

£11 12 8

158 [CriAP. VI.

recuniary It will be perceived, from tlio estimates, that while
noe^ofthe ^^^^ warm water system of batliing is worked at a loss of
'^^r^ish £4 4g, 4(j^j tlie Turkifch, or hot-air system would leave
Hot-air a profit of 19s. 4d. But all the pecuniary advantages
system, which would result do not appear iu the above estimate.
The surplus heat from the flues and hot rooms might be
exhausted into a drying room to dry all the linen and
towels, and sufficient water heated to supply at least
thirty warm baths of sixty gallons each jier day, in
addition to that required for use in the Turkish Bath and
lavatories. At the lowest computation this would be
worth at least £2 ; now supposing that a week is occupied
in bathing 1000 persons in each case the one would give a
clear profit of £2 19s. 4d. or £154 5s. 4d. yearly, which
is equal to 3 per cent, on the capital, while on the other
hand the warm water system entails a loss of £219 5s. 4d.
per annum. This, it must be admitted, is a very serious
Timo consideration for the ratepayers of any parish, besides,
theWmn *^®r® would be a considerable saving of time in bathing a
Lavatory large number of persons by the warm lavatory system as
compared with warm water bathing. Any one who has
visited a bathing establishment for the working classes, say
on a Saturday night, must have been struck by the slow-
ness of the process, and the consequent discomfort and loss
of time to those who are waiting their turn. When a bath
room is vacant the attendant has to run off the dirty water,
clean out the bath, probably wipe up the floor, and then
wait till some sixty gallons of water at a suitable tempera-
ture has accumulated before he leaves. The bather in
addition to the time taken up in the process of ablution,
occupies from ten to twenty minutes in undressing and
reclothing himself; meanwhile perhaps twenty persons are
waiting. In the warm lavatory system the bather would
undress in a room for the purpose, and the time occupied

Ohap. VI.] 159

in the mere process of bathing would not be more than
ten minutes at the most. Nor would there be any time
lost in cleaning and arranging the bath ; no sooner would
one finish washing and leave the lavatory, than another
would be undressed and ready to take his place ; so that
it would not be stretching a point to say that treble the
number of persons could be bathed in an hour by the one
process than by the other.

If the number of undressing compartments adjoining
the lavatories were doubled, namely, twenty-eight instead
of fourteen^ there would be practically scarcely any limit
to the number of bathers who could be accommodated, and
the waste of time consequent upon waiting for their turns
would be very little even at the busiest seasons.

These considerations point to the fact that if bathing Hot-air
establishments with warm lavatories and Turkish Baths more used
attached, were made as attractive as our gin palaces, without l?^^*^^'
the intoxicating liquors, they could be made financially Summer,
successful. Some one may say that this is a mere matter of
opinion, or random statement of an enthusiast, who allows
his zeal to obscure his common sense. I must confess that
all persons who are advocating any particular hobby lay
themselves open to such criticism, especially from pedantic
individuals who have neither inclination nor brains enough
to investigate any subject out of their ordinary course, and
the invariable policy of such cold-hearted people is to " pooh
pooh ! " everything they do not understand. I beg to
remind such critics that the statements I have adduced have
been so carefully thought over, anticipating severe criticisms,
that I am prepared to stake my reputation upon their accu-
racy, and what is more, I defy successful contradiction. I
believe that were the lavatories in use at the baths and
washhouses there would be as many bathers in the winter as
in Bummer, which would further increase the revenues ; in

IGO

[ClTAP. VL

fact, judging from the experience of over twelve years of the
habits of the upper classes, more hot-air baths are taken
in winter than in summer, and I have no doubt the result
would be the same amongst the working classes had they
the opportunity.

w^^ ""^ ^^® ^^"^^g ^ff i^ ^^^ number of water bathers during the
Water winter months will be seen from the following returns, ob-

decr^ein ^^^^^d from several Metropolitan Baths and Washhouses :

Winter. — ■ j ___

Naof No. of

BathB in Baths in
Summer. Winter.

Name of Bath.

Bermondsey

8t Pancras

AU Saints, Poplar

St. Marylebone ...

St. Margaret's and St. John's, Westminster ...

St. George's

••• ... ... ... ..■

••• ••• ... ... ••.

*** ... •*• •«•

"~ ...

... ...

...
...
...
••.
...
••.

Total

••• •••

39,544
23.585
17,700
72,842
66,502
34,862

255,035

16,918
7,930
6,050
39,869
23,981
18,487

113,235

The statistics of the Liverpool public baths and wash-
houses tell the same tale. At Cornwallis Street Baths, the
daili/ receipts range from 4«. 6d to £53 6*. 5d. This wide
difference represents pretty accurately the proportion of
bathers in winter and summer respectively. In a work
entitled " Baths and Washhouses," by Messrs. Ashpitel &
Whichcord, which contains some very valuable statistics,
we read that at the Birmingham baths and washhouses,
during some of the summer weeks, there has been 11,000
bathers, and the receipts £150 weekly; while for the
week ending December of the same year, the receipts
from bathers amounted to £13 4s. 6d.

This great diminution in the number of bathers during
the winter season must, of course, drain, away the whole
of the profit made in the summer months ; but if the
warm lavatory system was adopted, it would equalize the
number of bathers, and consequently the receipts, all the

CnAv. VL] 161

year round. The unpopularity of bathing during t^®P2.^?Ii.
winter need hardly cause surprise, when we consider the present
discomfort attending the system of bathing now in vogue, gyj^^
The risk of " catching a chill " is too great for the
working classes generally to run ; whereas if bathing were
made more comfortable and attractive, as it would be in a
warm room, the body would be brought into to atmosphere
congenial to the senses, and where all the effete matter is
easily removed from the skin. The unpopularity and the
scarcity of bathers in winter would be done away with ;
bathing would become a luxury as well as a highly
sanative agent ; the one great difficulty in the way of the
universal establishment of such institutions throughout the
land would be overcome, as well as the fear that they could
hardly be made to cover their working expenses, to say nothing
of recouping the ratepayers for the original outlay on their
construction. By making habits of cleanliness more
general among the working classes, as well as by render-
ing the bath agreeable and inviting winter and summer,
the direct profits would be augmented to such an extent as
both to clear the expenses' of management and to leave
such a balance as would in a few years' time pay off their
first cost.

Having argued upon philosophical principles the advisa- ^ ^^e^
bility of adding hot-air baths to the baths and washhouses, Turkish
both as regards comfort and their financial success, Itachedto
should have been better satisfied to have practically illus- ^^^? ^^^
trated their working in detail. But there are so few houses.
towns where the hot-air bath has been erected on the rates,
that I have failed to obtain much reliable information,
although such as I have obtained tends to show that
when hot-air baths are brought within the means of
the working classes, they use them freely, and that
warm-water bathing greatly diminishes. I have thought

162

[Chap. VL

it desirable to adduce some information from the Cork
working-man's bath, set in motion by Mrs. Donovan
and the late Dr. Barter. A glance at the tabular state-
ment will show that the working classes take as many
Turkish Baths in the dead of winter as they do in summer.

PEOPLE'S BATH, CORK.
From November IZth, 1871, to November 2nd, 1872.

WORKING EZPEirSES, &C.

Dates.

No. of
Baths.

Becelpts.

Payments.

£ s. d.

£ 8. d.

Weekending November 13, 1871

292

4 2 10

2 15 6

rt >; 20 „

188

2 4 9

2 1> 6

„ December 3 „

289

3 17 9

2 8 2

n n ° »»

320

4 9 5

2 15 2

»» »i 1" i»

292

4 2 4

2 7 6

»» »> 23 „

307

3 19 6

2 17 10

i» >» 80 „

206

2 19

2 12 10

For the six months ending June

30, 1872. From half-yearly-

balance sheet

7,690

101 14 11

86 19 7

Week ending July 6, 1872

321

4 3 5

3 2 6

f> «> 13 „

302

3 16 8

3 4 6

» j» 20 „

280

3 13

3 4 6

»> >» 27 „

289

3 16 3

2 18 6

„ August 3 „

284

3 14 6

2 19 3

>i »» -^^ »

266

3 9 8

3 11 9

»> it l« If

279

3 12 11

3 10 6

it it •^^ If

276

3 12 11

4 6

If f» "1 If

317

4 5 8

4 6

„ September 7 „

252

3 8 11

4 6

14
»f >j ■••* II

280

3 17 4

3 5 10

•» If ^1 it

229

3 2 4

3 5 10

ff »> 28 ,,

278

3 16

3 5 6

., October 6 „

245

3 6 7

3 13 6

ff i» 12 „

258

3 8 5

3 15 6

If If 1" It

278

3 15 2

3 15 6

ff >> *" If

287

3 15 10

4 14 6

„ November 2 „

263

•

3 11

3 19 6

14,567

193 16 11

170 9

Soap an

d towels ...

5 12 6

175 13 3

*'••'...

Profi

c ••• •••

18 3 8

£193 16 11

CuAP, VI.] 163

It is a remarkable faet that in this small establishment^ Success of
over 2000 baths were given in the months of November Pe^ople s
and December ; this is a very gratifying result, and a p^'J^^^ '
practical illustration of my argument, viz., that by making Cork*
bathing attractive, the people will appreciate the advan-
tages all the year round. The support during the winter
months the people's baths at Cork have received is a
striking contrast to that of the metropolitan baths, and if
further weight of evidence was required to persuade the
functionaries who have the management of parochial
afiairs to adopt the institution, I would lose no time in
supplying an overwhclxning amount in favour of hot-
air over warm-water as a bathing medium for the
masses.

When advocating People's Turkish Baths^ it is always
necessary to remember the amount of prejudice to be
overcome, so that the success of the Bath in question
must be attributable to the benefit derived, as well as to
the superior comforts provided, as there is nothing in the
people of Cork- to make them more cleanly than the
population of manufacturing towns in England.

The Cork bath shows what can be done with a
comparatively small capital, the first cost of the building
did not exceed £500, which is remarkable when compared
with the enormous sums expended on gigantic establish-
ments in this country.

On physiological grounds, bathing in winter is more Bathing
essential. The heat and warmth of the sun will promote °^°^®.. ,

*^ essential

the action of the skin sufficiently m summer when in Winter

han
Summer.

cold bathing is found more invigorating and refreshing g,"^

than warm water bathing ; — whereas during the inclement^
wet, and cold weather of our English climate, the skin is
chilled, and insensible perspiration checked; to counteract
this condition of the skin, it requires to be exposed

M 2

164 [Chap. VL

to hot air at least once a week, to open the pores again
and give free action to the circulation, which will prevent
the development of disease. This is just what warm
lavatories and hot-air baths are intended to accomplish,
and I shall ever continue to advocate this plan of bathing
for the labouring classes until public authorities recognize
the-system and its salutary results.
%^^°f , The People's Turkish Bath at Cork was opened on the
Turkish 23rd of February, 1863, for men and women. Its ex-
0^^^' istence is due to the energy and enterprise of Mrs. C. G.
Donovan, who, with the assistance of the late Dr. Barter,
aided by a gift of £50 from the late Mr. J. F. Maguire^
M.P., and £100 from the Corporation of Cork, succeeded,,
after nearly two years' labour, in collecting sufficient Ainds-
for the building. The charges for admission have been
reducedy and are now uniform : — 3d. for men and women^
and 2d. for children.

Mrs. Donovan • says : — ** In a city which boasts of its
Sanitary Association, surely such an agent of cleanliness
cannot be over-looked without ignoring all physiological
law. It is vain to wash the outside of the platter — ^which
street and house cleaning may be said to represent — and
leave the many ignorant of the dangers which lurk under
a dirty skin."
Turkish Fortunately for society, the question is gradually taking
gradually ^^ proper place in cultivated minds, as we may judge
gaining from the words of a distinguished English philanthropist,
who, after supposing the ghost of a Soman emperor ta
visit our cities, describes him as saying : — " No doubt we,.
the barbarians, had no hospitals or reformatories in our
time, but still I cannot help asking why you are spending
so much money in locking the stable door when the steed
is stolen. Instead of* spending money in endeavouring
to cure people of disease after they have got it, and to

Chap. VI.] 165

«

restore people's self-respect after they have lost it, don't
you think it would be better to spend money in an en-
deavour to prevent disease and a loss of self-respect, by
means of public cleanliness ? "

If the august ghost who speaks so wisely would con-
descend a visit to Cork, surely his indignation at seeing
the struggling existence of oniB of the most honoured of
lioman institutions would at least win for us the small
boon otfree water. But it is not the dead alone who speak,
xwe have also the indirect evidence of medical men who
«till remain unconscious of the blessing they overlook.
Contrast not only the relief from suffering, but all the
other benefits derived from the hot-air bath, with the
following picture, drawn by an eminent lecturer in a
London hospital : — *^ At this moment there are hundreds
of patients waiting the arrival of the medical attendant to
inject a grain or two of morphia beneath the skin. Only
four hours ago they had a similar dose ; four hours hence
they will have another. They declare they cannot endure
a rheumatic neuralgia, and they implore of you to give
them frequent and increasing doses of morphia, which
carry them still further from real help, and eventually add
to their misery and degradation." . • . . The in-
telligent Hygiest, with his stupe, his wet bandage, and
his bath, may well thank God he is not such an one ; no
helpless sufferer, vainly seeking help from dangerous
palliatives, for his better sense, and that calm confi-
dence which experience gives, have taught him how to
relieve pain without resorting to the miserable subterfuge
of deadening sensibility.

Too many think that to found a charity is the highest
form of Christian benevolence ; but there are other acts,
fio wide spread in their benefit, that individual effort—
though not forgotten of God — is lost in the greatness of

166 [Chap. VL

the resiilt. Snrely among such may be classed those that
work and those institutions which save society from the
burthen of the widow and the orphan, lessen physical and
moral evils, and help to teach that knowledge of the
necessary conditions for insuring health and happi-
ness, which will eventually efface even the memory of
that abject poverty which now shocks every feeling of
self-respect.
Mrs. Mrs. Donovan fully corroborates my assertion with

mTTurkSh regard to winter bathing. She says that both rich
Uaths. and poor in flork frequent the bath oftener in winter
than in summer^ and adds that it is only the ignorant
who could compare warm water with hot-air baths, either
for safety, enjoyment, or capacity for meeting the
requirements of the many. iShe calculates that 100 a
day could be easily accommodated in the Cork bath^
provided they came in parties of about twenty or thirty ;—
a fact which, if realized, would, with its other benefits^
soon solve the vexed question of expenditure.

202,919 have used the baths, and it is believed that

the numbers might be doubled if employers, looking to

their own interest, as well as that of their workmen^

took advantage of the tickets printed for their special

use, at 2s. the book of 12, thus enabling them to give

a full Turkish Bath for the small sum of 2d.

First The People's Bath at Cork represents the first attempt

T^^^h ^^* ^^ made in Europe to supply the working classes

Bath in with a Turkish Bath. Much prejudice - and opposition

^^^' had to be overcome in its establishment. But its success

• —as a sanitary medium, if not financially — soon became

so transparent a fact that it was useless to cavil.

Several other towns, therefore, soon followed the example

of Cork, None of them have, however, brought this bath

80 thoroughly within reach of the working man as the

Chap. VL]

167

directors of tiie Cork Batli. Bradford, it will be seen,
has come the nearest, the prices there being 6d. and ls«
This is sufficiently low for a complete Turkish Bath ; but
a great improvement would be made by the addition of
the warm lavatory, at 2d. This would be sufficient for all
ordinary cleansing purposes,-— especially with the addition
of an occasional free perspiration in the hot-air bath,—
and would soon be highly appreciated by the poorer
portion of the population.

The following statements of the results of the working
of the Turkish Bath for the artizan classes have been
received from Bradford, Cardiff, Hanley, Kidderminster,
and Stalybridge, which, in addition to the arguments I
have adduced will, I hope, bring conviction home to every
unprejudiced mind. '

THE BRADFORD CORPORATION BATHS.

In 1867 the Bradford Corporation added the Turkish Bradford
Bath to their excellent system. Mr. John Howarth, the tionfiShs
very efficient superintendent of the baths, has favoured
me with the following statistics, which show that the
Turkish Bath is increasingly popular with the working
classes of that important manufacturing town :—

Number of Turkish Bathers.

Tear.

Is. Baths.

6d. Baths.

Beceipts.

£ s. d.

1867 ...

1812

3350

174 7

1868 ...

1962

• 3055

174 9 6

1869 ...

2228

2968

185 12

1870 ...

3096

3178

234 5

1871 ...

3707

3448

271 11

1872 ...

4297

3835

310 14 6

1873 ...

4681

3822

329 12

21,783

23,658

£1680 11

168 [Chap. VL

The cost for attendance and washing, &c., is estimated
at £525, which shows a profit of £514 148. 6d. The item
of fuel is not accounted for, it being difficult to arrive at
its actual cost, as it is capable of being used in heat-
ing water for the warm baths and in maintaining the
temperature of drying rooms. This saving of heat applies
also in all cases where the Turkish Bath is in use in con-
junction with other systems of baths. But at Bradford,
even when the fuel is wholly charged against the Turkish
Bath, a handsome profit remains. *

Mr. Howarth writes : " As a cleansing agent, pure and
simple, there is no comparison between the Turkish and
the ordinary warm bath ; because a person may take a
warm bath and still not be clean, as may be proved by his
taking a Turkish Bath immediately afterwards. There is
no more danger in the Turkish than in the warm bath, if
the person taking it is in good health ; but, tlie conditions
under which it can he jyi^operly used are much more limited in
the former tlian in the latter case. It is by far the most
powerful, comprehensive, and efiicient agent, if applied
under intelligent supervision."

HANLE Y.

Hanley In this town Turkish Baths have been added to the

Baths. baths and washhouses at a cost of £1000; they are

increasing in popularity with the artizan and labouring

classes^ and will continue to do so in proportion as their

prejudices are overcome. The prices, are 6d., Is., and

' Is. 6d.

The .number of Turkish Baths taken from April, 1874,
to April, 1875, is 5117, and from April, 1875, to April,
1876, 5767, showing an increase on the year, 650.

Chap. VI.] 169

The number of Turkish Baths taken 1374 1375 1876
from April to September ... 2,605 3,060 5,169

„ September, 1874, to April, 1875 ... 2,512

„ „ 1875, to „ 1876 ... 2,707

These results contrast most favourably with those of
the warm water baths, as shown in the tabular statement
in page 160.

There has been a very fair attendance at the warm
water baths during the periods mentioned above, but it
decreases now the Turkish Baths are becoming more
appreciated.

EDWIN MOOEHOUSE,

Superintendent,

KIDDERMINSTER.

The prices charged for Turkish Baths in this town are Kidder-
too high for the majority of the artizan classes, the x^kUh
lowest price being one shilling. They are more appre- Baths,
ciated by the poor than the warm water baths, and would
be extensively used if brought within their means. We
are informed that if the Corporation could be induced to
give the baths at 6d., they would become very popular ;
as it is, the Turkish Baths are much more patronized in
winter than in summer.

STAYLYBBTDGE.

The Turkish Baths in connection with the Corporation Staly-
Baths are much resorted' to ; the number of bathers for TurkSb
the year ending October, 1876, reached 5314, and in^***^*
addition to these there are forty season ticket holders, some

170 [Chap. VL

of them bathing two and three times a week. We have
been unable to obtain statistics of previous years^ but the
superintendent informs us the difference in the number
of bathers in summer and winter vary so little as ^^ not
to be worth mentioning."

In closing this Chapter I must just observe that
although the hot-air baths and warm lavatories are
advocated as the best bathing mediums^ they are re*
garded as powerful curative agents, and if they were
attached to the bathing establishments the medical
profession would have no excuse for not recommending
them to their poor patients which would cause them to
be largely resorted to, and prove a lucrative source of
income the present bath establishments are deprived of.

i

CuAP. VIL] 171

CHAPTER VIL

On the Recipients of Medical Charities and the
Value of the Hot-air Bath as a Medicinal
Agent for the Poor,

*' I beseech all persons not to degrade themselyes to a level with the brutes
or the rabble, by gratif jmg their sloth, or by eating and drinking promis-
cuously whatever pleases their palates, or by indulging their appetites of
every kind. But whether they understand physic or not, let them consult
their reason, and observe what agrees and what does not agree with them,
that, like wise men, tbey may adhere to the use of such things as conduce
to their health, and forbear everything which, by their own experience,
they find to do them hurt ; and let them be assured that, by diligent
observation and practice of this rule, they may enjoy a good share of
health and seldom, stand in need of Physic or Physicians." — Dr. Galek.

IN the previous chapter I endeavoured to confine my ^^^'J^®^
observations as much as possible to the use of warm remedial
lavatories and the Turkish' Bath as sanitary and prophy- ^^^^
lactic remedies^ as well as the best known bathing mediums
for the working classes. I will now draw attention to the
value of the hot-air bath as a remedial agent, and I hope
my readers will pardon me for reiterating at times what
I have already insisted on, namely, the necessity of paying
more attention to the prevention of disease, and less to
its cure, and the advisability of providing all large centres
of population with the means, as far as practicable, of
maintaining health and avoiding disease, instead of allow-

172 [CnAP. VII.

ing the poor blindly and recklessly to destroy Iiealtli, and
then patch up the evil by resorting to hospitals and
dispensaries. It must not be understood that I altogether
ignore the desirability of such institutions, under existing
circumstances they are a necessity of the age. But it is
surely time to protest against the continually increasing
expenditure of public money in such a manner, when it
must be patent to every one that public health is not
thereby augmented or improved, nor can it ever be im-
proved by a system of nierely treating results : one might
as well attempt to divert the course of the Thames at London
Bridge by the use of a bucket. What can it avail to be
continually building larger and grander hospitals, so long
03 we allow " fever nests " and " cholera gardens " to exist
in our midst ? or What does it profit to have a large and
wealthy class of medical men in our midst if the great
masses of the people are allowed to live on, ignorantly and
blindly, violating the laws of health, and thereby en-
gendering disease and multiplying infirmity!
Eyiis I niay be pardoned for introducing here some remarks on

attending q^j, hospitals and dispensaries, I do so with a view of draw-
ing attention to some of the evil consequences attending
them, and to show that some of the recipients of medical
charity avail themselves of such institutions when they
have no right to do so. The increase of disease is an
evidence of the incompetency of the remedial measures
now administered to meet poor people's ailments.

While charitable medical, and other relief, may be
necessary in a good many instances, and cannot very well
be dispensed with, it trenches upon the independence
of the recipients; and its influence upon society at
large is very pernicious, requiring to be checked rather
than encouraged.

At present the charters of the hospitals will not

Chap. VII.] 173

admit of patients paying for advice. To be poor is
fortunately no crime nor a proof of improvidence,
neither is being rich a proof of provident habits or
honesty. These conditions and positions are generally
governed by circumstances over which the individual
has little or no control.* (Excepting of course such as
are caused by intemperance, idleness, &c., and these
exist in all classes of society), but to be poor is no
reason for being subjected to the degradation of accepting
charity when medical advice is necessary because it is
impossible to afford the usual fees.

A shilling to a poor man is as much in value to
him as a guinea is to another in better oircumstances,
and I would suggest that a small charge should be made
at our hospitals to the out-patients, which many would be
willing to pay rather than'incur obligations, and risk their
manly principles and pride by accepting gratuitojM advice^
8fc, I am happy to learn ftom the Bev. Dawson Bums,
Hon. Sec, London Temperance Hospital, Gk>wer Street,
that a fee of Is. is charged the patients at each visit; this
appears ta be a step in the right direction, and, I hope
will be followed by other institutions. In Turkey and
what we call barbarous countries they have no Charitable
Institutions, the poor pay what they can afford, there being
no fixed charge. We pride ourselves on our civilization
and prosperity, yet there is no country on the face of the
globe where there are so many pauper institutions as in
England.

■

In the year 1830, when there were but eight I^c^'^^
hospitals in the metropolis which supplied advice Mtienta in
and medicines to out-patients, the total number of such ^°^P^*^-
patients was 46,435 ; but in 1869 the number had risen
to 277,891. This more than five-fold increase had taken
place during a period in which the population had only a

174 [Chap. VII.

little more tlian doubled. This fact is fullj borne out
by the statistics of the different hospitals. St. Thomas's
and St. George's may be taken as instances. Until
1834, St. Thomas's Hospital was without an out-door
department; at that date, however, the practice of
prescribing for, and supplying medicine to out-patients
was began; and the number of patients increased so
rapidly that, in 1842, it was found necessary to add to
the professional staff a second assistant surgeon and two
assistant physicians. In 1858 the total number of out-
patients at this hospital was 38,268 ; in 1861 the number
was nearly 42,000 ; and in 1869 it had reached nearly
66,000. Daring the seven years between 1863 and 1870,
the number of out-patients at St. George's Hospital rose
from 14,853 to nearly 20,000, being an increase of 30 per
cent.
Increased Such 18 the enormous extent to which medical relief
formedical ^^ increased, in London alone costing many thousand
relief. pounds a year, exclusive of the value of the lands and
buildings occupied in working it; and it still goes on
augmenting in the same or nearly the same ratio. The
* fact we have to look in the face is, that despite our
continually enlarged expenditure on medical charities,
disease and the number of medical paupers are steadily on
the increase ; as though the evil grew by what it fed on,
the increased supply of charitable medical institutions are
augmenting, and the money demand for their maintenance
must increase. It is difficult to compreliend this demand
for medical relief considering the enormous sanitary im-
provements that have taken place within the last ten years.
Evils and abuses grow up out of charities : it is
found, when the social position of some of the appli-
cants for medical aid is inquired into, that relief is
administered to persons occupying positions in the

Chap. VIL] 175

social scale which become gradually higher as time
advances; so high indeed, that were it not for the repeated
observ^ations of those whose judgment and veracity are
indubitable, we should be slow to believe that persons whose
incomes enable them to command many luxuries^ are in the
habit of obtaining all the medical aid they require from a
hospital or dispensary. That such abuse does prevail in
the Metropolis and in other large towns of Great Britain
to a disgraceful extent is unfortunately beyond doubt;
and the question naturally arises : Does this special
kind of medical charity tend to induce pauperism on a
scale sufficiently large to cause any appreciable rise in the
poor-rates ? It might perhaps be impossible to adduce
absolute proofs that it does, but facts and considera-
tions bearing on the subject cannot^ I think, but compel
every one who gives due attention to it, to conclude that
the habit of receiving gratuitous medical and parish relief
stand to each other, in a vast number of instances, in the
relation of cause and effect. I am perfectly convinced,
from personal observation, that many patients visit dispen-
saries and the out-door departments of hospitals chiefly ibr
the purpose of persuading, if possible, the physicians who
prescribe for them to give certificates that they are not
in a fit state to work, and that they are in urgent need of
specially nourishing food, wine, etc., which they after-
wards solicit from the benevolent.

It is readily conceivable that those who have become Medical
habitual recipients of medical charity, and who have fead" to
thus deadened their feelings of independence, are easily depen-
tempted to take the further step of applying for pecuni-
ary relief, which is the stepping-stone to dishonesty.
" The workman," it has been very justly said, " has
often learned at the hospital his first lesson of depen-
dence. He begins by taking physic, and then food,

176 [Chap. VII.

from charity." In the report of one of the hospitals
occurs the following passage : — " For some years there
has been a growing conviction amongst philanthropists
that indiscriminate medical charity tends to pauperize
classes who would not think of receiving any other form
of benevolent assistance, and that, by gradually under-
mining their independence, it leads them afterwards to
solicit pecuniary aid, which career too often ends in the
workhouse or the gaol."
Hospitals Can any one, calmly reflecting on this state of things,
* d^^'^^^^ do other than conclude that our charitable medical institu-
grace. tions, of which we are so proud, are, in reality, a weakness
and a disgrace ? But the probable effect of this system of
thoroughly pauperizing all ranks of the community, is
not its worst attendant evil. There is another ; and it
is one which demands our most earnest attention, both
as politicians and Christians. It is involved in the
answer to the question ; In how far do these institutions
tend to foster and extend disease instead of checking and
eradicating it? We need only, I think, look at the
system which is carried on in most of our large hospitals,
to arrive at the conclusion that the present practice of
administering out-door relief is a mockery and a
^^^^ delusion. A writer in the Fall Mall Gazette says: "The
patients' out-patients' waiting-rooms of the different institutions,
rooms In unless exceptionally large and exceedingly well venti-
London ]ated, are, as a rule, crowded to excess, and during the
summer months almost to, suffocation. The so-called
^casualty' (or cadging) patients who attend St. Bartholo-
mew's Hospital are now attended in a new building, con-
sisting of a large, well- ventilated room, capable of seating
600 patients, but even this large room is often so over-
crowded in summer that the heat and unpleasant atmosphere
are much complained of. . . . The crowding at the

Chap. VII.] 177

Children's Hospital at Great Ormond Street, is reported
to be such that it has been necessary to prohibit the
patients from sitting on the steps of the adjoining
houses,"

A correspondent recently writing in the -Ec/io, says : —

'< During ihe last few weeks I haye made it my business to inquire into
the manner in which out-patients are received and treated at some of our
Metropolitan hospitals. My examination discloses a state of things at once
unsatisfactory and unjustifiable. I do not intend to mention here the names
of the institutions 1 haye yisited, for the simple reason that their authorities
will easily see to whi;h I allude, and that lam not desirous of injuring them.
Were I to distinguish any one of the hospitals I haye yisited by giying their
names, I am positive that the public would cease to support, it ; and,
however badly certain dispensaries are managed, far be it from my intention
to damage their interests, and indirectly in this manner deprive the^poor of
medical treatment. I will not enter here into the functions of the Charity
-Organization Society, but I do think that the scope of its labours might be
extended so as to include the visitation and examination of those charities
which profess to succour the distressed poor. Benevolence, in my humble
opinion, loses half —nay, nearly all — its charms when dispensed in a cold
and nerveless manner, and it is a great pity that this fact is not borne in
mind by those who are empowered by the wealthy to distribute their alms.
It is unfortunate that philanthropists cannot always personally supervise
the appropriation of. their largesse; if this were done, and it is not
impossible, there might be some little chance of reforming our charity
system, and especially the method of hospital treatment of out-
patients.

" Hospitals have certainly no particular profit in encouraging sickness,
jet it appears to me that the managers of one particular institution are
desirous of so aggravating the disorders of out-patients so as to qualify
them for admission as in-patients. Poor sickly persons, many moaning with
pain, are compelled to be at the hospital doors some time before they open,
and) whether it rain or no, the porter or beadle, who is, no doubt, enjoying a
comfortable breakfast, will not admit them to shelter. Some weeks ago, at
the institution of which I am at present writing, a physician performed an
important operation upon an infant three months old, which deprived it of
one of its limbs, without the permission of its parents. I do not know, of
course, whether it was necessary in this particular case to go to extremes,
but I think that the consent of the mother, who brought the child to the
hospital, might have been obtained previous to the performance of the
operation. Your readers will appreciate my delicacy in refraining f ro*u

N

178 [Chap. VII.

giving them insight into the nature of this case, as such would certainly
lead them to identify the institution ; and, as this dispenses its benefits far
and wide, I should be sorry to detract from its fair fame.

" At a hospital not many million miles from the Echo Offices a young
woman attended on Monday last, suffering from bad breasts. She had
just arisen from childbed, and was in a weak and emaciated condition.
The surgeon under whose attention she came examined the wounds, and
suggested lancing. This the young woman, human-nature likef, declined^
\hereupon the doctor observed, 'Then take yourself off to a hospital
Inhere they don't lance ! ' At the same hospital, and before the same
medical attendant^ there proceeded an elderly female, who suffered from
a chronic illness, but having been well the last two months, and not
feeling the want of medicine, had not put in an appearance at the hospital.
^Why haven't you been here for some time?' quoth the doctor, with
rising indignation. ' Because, sir,' replied the poor old thing, nervously,.
'I've been so well and comfortable-like.' * Don't be impertinent,' cried
the charitable .^culf^ius, 'and go about your business '— as if the old
woman had no business to be well for two whole months. In this institu-
tion, also, another old woman was badly treated. The crowd was greats
and in her attempt to gain egress she dropped her medicine bottle, and its-
contents were soon meandering over the cold stone floor upon which the
patients are compelled to stand. Well, the ailing old soul made known
her loss to the official who dispensed the medicine, but he absolutely
refused to supply her with aEotlier bottle. In one of the largest hospitals-
of which this Metropolis can boist, sufferers of all sorts, without regard to
age or the nature of their ailments, are compelled to await in dark, cold^
damp corridors the examination of the doctor. The crowd is generally
great and the air foul, and the evil effects upon the patients may b&
imagined. Having at last escaped from the miserable corridor into the
surgery, the sufferers are greeted with coarse indifference, and meet with
none of that kind consideration so essential to the sick. Persons are
examined like so many bales of goods, and in the hurry the wrong medicine
is frequently given. But, of course, it does not matter much, as the
patients are poor, perhaps very poor, and the surgeon, mayhap, inspired
by the benevolent thought of putting a miserable fellow-creature out of
the world. It is, sir, a most pitiable spectacle to behold a few hundred
human beings huddled together in a gloomy cold passage, groaning with
the pains of complicated ills, and the sight is the more sickening when the
observer pictures to himself the callous and brut.al manner adopted by the
medical officers. Were I so inclined I could adduce many cases of actual
cruelty, but 1 think I have written enough to show the necessity for some
effectual reform in the hospital system. Institutions supported by public
money should be under the supervision and control of public officers, and

Chap. VIL] ITO

it is to be hoped that these lines may be Uie xsueona of directing the
attrition of Parliament to the subject.

" There is one special point to which I wish to refer in conclusion, and
that is that there should be no nece^ty to obtain a subscriber s letter
for admission to a hospital. Surely being sick and ill is a sufficient recom-
mendation I To one hospital, contributed to by thousands of Englishmen,
foreigners are admitted without ' a letter,^ while Britons must ba provided
with one in-order to gain treatment! "

The same Btate of things exists in nearly all the other Hospital
large hospitals, and invalids often receive tygienically J^|^^^ ^^
more harm than good in their visit from having to wait a farce,
so long, often hours, in discomfort. There are, unfortu-
nately, other evils to which the recipients of our
medical charities are subject to. It is necessary, in
order to get through the work, for the physicians to
see and prescribe for scores of patients in the course
of an hour. Who shall say what mistakes are made,
and what mischief done? It seems little better than
grim mockery to proffer this sort of help to destitute
sufferers; nor do I think there will be any one who,
calmly weighing the facts, will venture to uphold
the system on the grounds of any supposed merit it may
possess. Mr. Holmes, whose long experience at St.
George's Hospital adds great weight to this opinion, may
well say as he does, " Very much of the assistance given
is merely nominal, and is both a deception on the
public and a fraud on the poor."

It is unnecessary, I think, for me in this place to go
further into the subject. The whole thing is a palpable
sham and a farce, and the sooner the benevolently disposed
public are brought to a knowledge of the miserable system
they are supporting with their contributions, the better it
will be for the country and for humanity at large. Enormous
sums are yearly spent in trifling with suffering, if not in
actually propagating disease, and the ignorant and sloth-

N 2

180 [Chap.. VII.

ftd public^ always ready to fly to that which is the least
trouble; though it may cost them the most in the end, is
led to place confidence in a system which, in numerous
cases can only leave them worse than it found them. How
much greater, hygienically, would be the result if but
one half of the vast sums thus expended were devoted to
carrying out measures which would prevent a large per-
centage of the present sickness that afflicts the poor.

George Wyld, M.D., remarks: — '*In the British Isles
there are about 20,000 medical men, and with so noble
an army of educated philanthropists, what an incalculable
amount of good might we not achieve.

" Were Chairs of hygienic and preventive medicine
established in all our medical schools, and one-tenth of
that labour bestowed on those great subjects which
is now given to minute and pathological anatomy,
the entire aspect of our social condition would be
changed."
Chinese It has often occurred to me that in this, as in many
paji^ for other things, the Chinese exhibit far more practical
adyjoe. wisdom than we do, inasmuch as they pay the physician
for keeping them well instead of for curing them when
diseased. They are thus, as it were, the teachers of the
people in respect to the preservation of health. How
much better would it be for the nation at large if, instead
of a medical profession profiting by the sickness and
misery of the community, we had a class of hygienic
' teachers devoting their time to, and receiving remunera-
tion for, instructing the people in the physiological and
natural laws affecting life and health, and so keeping the
community well ! We should then, I am convinced,
have fewer hospitals and infirmaries, more baths and
gymnasiums, as in the days of ancient Greece and Borne ;
fewer impure courts and alleys, more open green spaces

Chap. VII.] 181

and squares ; fewer gutter cliildren * reared amidst Ber. Lord
dirt and disease, and more cleanly and respectable homes ort^meon
— the best nurseries of honesty, sobriety, independence (Gutter

1 . , i|. children.

and intelligence.

* The Rev. Jjord Sidney G. Osborne, S.G.O., of the Times, whose
letters to that journal upon social and sanitary subjects are marked with
so much good judgment, gave the following — ^alas, too truthful portrait
of this little waif: —

«< There are not many of us who have not seen the Gutter child ; it is
the name which is the novelty, not the animal. What a being it is, what
a wonderful downward development of our common humanity I Take a
dozen of them straight from the gutter-side, walk them or herd them in
Hyde Park, in any place or park where ordinary humanity takes its
pleasure ; compare them with any dozen nursery children, schoolroom
children ; try to elicit child talk first from the one breed, then from the
other ; try to elicit their modes of life, of thought, the manner of their
rearing, their tastes, however childish. Test them as to the things which
give them most pleasure— the things they would most desire to possess.
Draw out what they — the two breeds — have been taught, and who
taught them ; what they know of the world about them. Let them talk
with each other, and then mark whether they have any subject in
common. You will soon discover that the difference of the two breeds is
in all this so great that it is hardly to be reconciled with the fact that
they are alike human ofifspring. When first born into the world had
they been shuffled together, no science could have detected which was a
Belgravian, which a Gutter child.

"In language, in life, in habits by day or night, the Gutter child diifors
as much from all other children as it does in its dress and outward ap-
pearance. The child of the Fiji can scarcely be more heathen, more
barbarian. It may possibly have been baptized — I fear many thousands
have not been so. It may have owners, or one owner ; have known two
pareiLts, or only one, just such parents as " home " by gutter-side. It
has been nursed and fed, but too often very grudgingly. From the day
of long clothes to that of corduroy and fustian its every sense has been
adapted to take in pollution. It could neither breathe nor listen but to
receive foul air to the luUgs, foul language — ^blasphemy by the ear. The
Lord's Prayer, the simplest form of creed, simple hymns, Christian
child's song, are matters all to it most strange, representing ideas for
which it has no perception. The gutter school soon gives the language
of imprecation, but affords no belief in the God by whom it swears."

182 [Chap. VII.

Pretention Persons living under these unfortunate oonditionSy
than cure which too manj of the poor in London and other large
in disease, ^owns are subjected, cannot be otherwise than degraded :
and the first step towards improving their melancholy
position is to induce them to become cleanly, both in
their persons and dwellings, thus raising them out of the
mire, as it were, and enabling them to appreciate, and to
strive to secure, health of both body and mind.

There is much wisdom in the proverbial saying that
** prevention is better than cure," and especially so with
respect to disease. Kow, as a general rule, all maladies
are manifested in their incipient stage by slight functional
derangements, often so slight indeed as neither to excite
alarm nor suggest the adoption of precautionary measures,
yet certain, if neglected, to grow apace, and assuredly
develop and establish disease. It is in this incubating
stage, so to speak, of disease, that the hot-air bath is so
valuable in arresting those maladies that are prevalent
among the poorer classes, namely, such as are caused by
exposure to wet and cold, and by contagious poisons,
respecting which that eminent authority, Erasmus Wilson,
says : " The faculty of preventing disease, as exercised by
the skin, besides being direct and operative on the general
health of the body, is also indirect. The skin repels the
depressing effects of cold, of alternations of temperature,
of extreme dryness or moisture, by virtue of its own
healthy structure — ^by its intrinsic power of generating
heat ; and it also repels other causes of disease, such as
animal and miasmatic poisons, by its eliminatory power,
which enables it to carry them directly out of the body."
Thus, by stimulating the healthful functions of the skin,
the bath exercises great power in preventing disease, more
especially those forms of ailment to which, as already
stated, the working classes are more particularly subject.

Chap. VIL] 183

It fortifies the body to resist climatic changes, and to
escape the evils that generally follow from exposure to the
Viorbid influences of malaria.

If, then, we can bring to bear upon the dense masses of Personal

1 /fcijii •/'ii_» metive for

poor, who are so often beyond all agencies for the im- improTing
provement of their position, so powerful a means for conation
affecting their physical condition, not only do we add to poor,
their comfort and general well-being, but also to their
health, and the health of the community at large ; for we
are all aware of the contagious nature of most maladies
arising from dirt and filth ; and none can be assured of
being exempted from their ravages, thus warning us, as it
were, of our common brotherhood, and our oneness of
interest Here, then, we have a selfish, personal motive
—one that intimately concerns us aU— for desiring to see
every effort made to diminish the causes of disease that
exist amongst us.

I should think scarcely a medical man of ordinary Medical
intelligence can be found to question the utility of the not use the
bath as a sudorific process, yet, strange to say, there is 1^^^ P
not a hospital or dispensary in London with a Turkish
Bath attached, except St. Thomas's, and it is now
seldom used. Medical men either from ignorance,
inability, or prejudice, do not use the bath when it is
provided* The other day I was one of a Committee^
who had occasion to visit the Fever Hospital at Isling-
ton, and in passing through a large ward I saw patients
suffering from all stages of fever, which the wet sheet
pack and other ablutions would not only have saved
them from immense suffering but preserved at least
50 f er cent, of the lives.

When I asked the question. Have you no baths attached
to the hospital ? to my astonishment the reply was — Ther^
is but one, and it is used as a receptacle £ot dirty linen {

184 [Chap. YU.

I merely quote this as a fair example of the appreciation of
watery appliances by the medical superintendents of these
charitable institutions.
^^^ . Hitherto^ I am sorry to say, medical men generally
gradually have been anything but forward to take advantage of the
thratten- ^^^^9 ^i indeed, they are of any other improvement or
tion of innovation, either medical or sanitary ; partly, no doubt^
men. because they did not become acquainted with it in the ordi-
nary routine of their professional studies, and partly also
because the means of applying it are not always at hand.
In the first instance, indeed, its introduction was met with
a storm of opposition from the sons of ^scul^pius, who
are proverbially averse to all innovations. The hot-air bath
is, however, gradually forcing itself upon the attention of
practitioners, through the medium of their patients, by its
own inherent merits, and lam fully persuaded that the
day is not far distant when hot air will not only supersede
warm-water and vapour baths, but be looked upon as one
of our most valuable agencies for the cure of disease. The
only wonder is that we should have i*emained without the
bath so long, when, as we have seen, people, on whom
we look down as far inferior in point of civilization, have
largely used it, and enjoyed its blessings from time
immemorial.
Dr. Bris- But I am glad to observe that a very markworthy change
towe on jg ^^ting place. Medical men are gradually becoming alive
ish Bath, to the advantages accruing from a judicious use of the hot-
air bath. When such a man as Dr. Bristowe, Physician
and Lecturer on Pathology at St. Thomas's Hospital, advo-
cates its use, there is some hope of its finally gaining that
ascendency as a curative method, which its merits un-
doubtedly demand. This gentleman, in a lecture recently
delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, made the
following observations in regard to the bath : ^^ I confess

Chap. VIL] 185

I have as little confidence in medicinal diaphoretics as I
have in medicinal diuretics ; but I have great confidence
in hot-air, hot-vapour, and hot-water baths. During the
period to which reference has just been made, and owing
to the fact that special opportunities were afforded to us
at the temporary St. Thomas's Hospital^ I treated my
anasarcous patients largely by the Turkish bath ; and I
was soon surprised to find how well those even who were
seriously ill bore it, and _ how much they were, for the
most part, benefited by it. Indeed, I began by degrees to
employ it in the treatment of such cases almost indis"*
criminately, and both for cases of heart-disease and cases
of renal disease, whether acute or chronic. Under the
influence of the Turkish Bath, employed, as a rule, three
times a week, and the copious perspirations which it pro-
duced, I have certainly seen over and over again general
dropsy diminish rapidly and in a very high degree, with
a corresponding improvement in the general health of the
patient. I hope I have spoken with becoming difiidence
of my own power of removing general dropsical accumu-
lations by attempting to promote their discharge from the
kidneys, bowels, and skin. I have intended to speak thus,
because it is comparatively rarely that I (and I think I
am not alone in this respect) have had the opportunity of
watching the uncomplicated eflects of either of these pro-
cedures. We know how much the supervention of dropsy
in heart disease is hastened by whatever excites the heart
to undue action, and by whatever deteriorates the general
health; and how, under favourable hygienic conditions
and appropriate medical treatment, the action of the heart
becomes quieted, the health improves, and, under the
influence of these changes, the dropsy disappears. Similar
observations are applicable in an equal degree to chronic
renal disease, and to the dropsy which follows upon it*

186 [OnAP, VIL

Kow, in almost all cases of anasarca that come under
treatment^ the patient is at once, in a greater or less
degree, put under the influence of all those health-pro-
moting conditions ; and these co-operate with the special
dropsy-removing remedies which we then, or subsequently,
determine to employ, and give them often an appearance
of eflScacy which does not belong to them."
Ser^n^°' ^^' ^^^^pother. Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, in
Turkish his '^ Lectures on Public Health," observes : — " I would
^ advocate the use of the bath as a social custom and

preventive of disease, for I believe it is the most perfect
means of ablution we possess, and therefore keeps up a
cleanly and vigorous constitution of the body, and braces
the person against the vicissitudes of temperature and the
liability to catch contagious diseases. There is no doubt
that large evacuations can be accomplished through the skin
more safely than by any other excreting organ. Nothing
escapes through the skin ^save what is noxious if retained.
«... I think its influence is directly curative in
rheumatic, gouty, and scrofulous aflections, skin diseases,
and the earlier stages of feverish colds and ague. By
the freer action of the skin, especially of its curative
function, I feel sure it is preventive of consumption, and
curative, perhaps, in the earlier states of that malady.
It is a substitute, to a certain extent, for active exercise,
which the circumstances of some prevent them from
enjoying."
Dr. How- And Dr. Howard, late of the Medical Stafi^ of the
T*^k\ B^i^iish Army in Turkey, records as follows : — "During
Baths. my residence in Turkey I had many opportunities of
ascertaining the value of the Turkish Bath in numerous
diseases. I tried it myself on several occasions, and can
speak confidently of its utility from my own experience.
In so changeable a climate as that of England — producing

CiiAP. VIL] 187

such a variety of diseascs^its applicabilitj to the cure of
so many diseases will render the Turkish hot-air bath one
.of the most important remedies ever introduced into our
therapeutics."

Charles Royston, M.D., M.II.C.S., Eng., Ac, remarks : ^r- Koy-
*' In June, 1875, I was confined to the house for ten days Turkish
with subacute synovical inflammation of the metatarso- '^^'^■'
phalangeal joint of the right great toe. In the following
month (July) the same thing occurred in the right
knee-joint, confining me to the house for three weeks,
after which I went to the seaside for three weeks.
On my return home, I was advised by an eminent
medical friend to have a Turkish Bath once a week, which
I did for three months, and subsequently once a fort-
night.

" I fully believe it has been the means of preventing a
repetition of the affection, and from various conversations I
have had with patients using the Teirkish Bath, I believe
it to be a very valuable auxiliary in the treatment and cure
of many disorders."

Mr. David Urquhart, who, from his long residence ^^' ^^J^*
in Turkey, had ample opportunity of testing its efficacy. Baths in
says : — ** Where the bath is the practice of the people, ^"^^®y-
there are no diseases of the skin. All cases of inflam-
mation, local and general, are subdued; gout, rheuma-
tism, sciatica, or stone, cannot exist where it is con-
secutively and sedulously employed as a curative
means. I am inclined to say the same thing in reference
to the plague. 1 am certain of it with reference to
cholera. As to consumption — that scourge of England
^-that pallid spectre, which sits by every tenth domestic
hearth among the higher orders — it is not only un-
known where the bath is practised, but is curable by its
means."

188 [CuAP. VIL

^^■•^ If eTidenoe were wanting of the remedial and propby-

Xarkidi lactic Talae of the Turkish Bath, there might be some

oi^otbe ^''"'°*^ ^^ ^** °^^ being generally recognized bj the

dispoted* medical profession, bnt as the testimony in its £iyonr is so

orerwhelming we are forced to the conclosion that it is

either dae to culpable neglect, or stupid prejudice,

that each hospital and dispensary has not at this moment

every kind of hygienical appliances.

Bnt the action of the hot-air bath is generally ad-
mitted to exercise a direct and powerful influence, not only
in preserving health and guarding against the approaches
of disease, but also in curing some of the most painM
maladies to which humanity is subject, more especially in
the case of persons whose constitutional debility, sedentary
occupations, or over indulgence indisposes them for active
physical exertion.
Objections There is a prevailing opinion, not only amongst the
TnrkLh uninitiated, but even Inedical men, that the bath is not so
^th applicable to the working classes as to the upper classes,
because the daily expenditure of bodily strength is a
necessity of daily life with a vast majority of them.
This objection to the use of the Turkish Bath amongst
the poorer portion of the community, I have already
treated at some length elsewhere. It has its origin in a
total misconception of the effects of heat on the animal
economy ; because it produces perspiration, it is ignor-
antly supposed that the action of the bath is exhaustive and
debilitating, and therefore the very reverse of what is re-
quired by the condition and necessities of the working man.
Let us see how the idea originated which attributes
to the hot-air bath an exhaustive debilitating effect. In
the popular mind profuse perspiration is associated
with bodily fatigue; hence as the bath excites copious
BweatiniT — which is the visible result of its action — it

Chap. VIL] 189

IS illogically assumed that such sweating is similar as
regards cause and effect to the perspiration produced by an
expenditure of physical vitality ; but such an assumption
altogether ignores the essential difference that exists
between the two modes by which the sweating is excited.
In the case of bodily labour there is necessarily an active
expenditure of vital energy, and the perspiration that
oozes from the pores of the skin is evidence of so much
physical vitality expended, the natural effect of which is
to induce bodily fatigue that may be carried to any
endurable amount of bodily exhaustion.

On the other hand, the perspiration excited by the bath
of pure hot-air is, in all respects, the exact reverse as to
cause and effect. In producing it no bodily labour takes
place, no vital energy is put in motion ; thus, as there is no
physical action, consequently there is no exhaustive wear and ,

tear — no waste whatever of physical vitality. The bather re-
mains in a state of quiescence, and the pleasurable repose
he enjoys is heightened by the action of the bath, which
necessarily relieves the system by the exudation of burden-
some impurities. In this state, with profuse perspiration
teeming from every pore, cold water — to drink which
when in such a condition produced by bodily exertion
would be almost certain injury — can be imbibed
freely, not only without any danger, but with actual
benefit.

Dr. Carpenter, an eminent authority, observes : *^ That I>r. Car-
perspiration has no weakening effect in itself, except by pewpira"
the diminution of the water in the blood, which may be ^^^'
re-supplied from the stomach, appears from the fact that if
persons exposed to high heat make no bodily exertion,
they experience no loss of vigour if copiously supplied with
cold water — such exposure may conduce very much to in-
vigorate the system."

IflO [Chae. VII.

Dr. Bal- The. testimony of Dr. Balbimie, who has had consider-
perapirS^ able experience on the subject, is to the same eflfect. He
tion. says : *^ The allegation that perspiration is a weakening
process is a fallacy that hardly needs demolition. Sweat-
ing, as accomplished by drugs (sudorifics), we admit, is a
debilitating drain. So is the vapour-bath as used
in the bungling way common in our old bath establish-
ments. But perspiration produced in a hot-air bath^
followed by tepid or cold ablutions, is highly tonic and
invigorating. Nothing of the normal constituents of
the body is abstracted save the saline and watery
portions of the blood. The water is replaced by ab-
sorption from the stomach as rapidly as it is given out :
for when the drain becomes excessive the supply is pro-
portionate."
Dr. Gosse Another high authority. Dr. Gosse, of Gteneva, says to
^^P^" the same point : *^ Perspiration is composed of water and
various excrementitious substances. The elimination of
the latter, far from weakening the body, tends rather to
strengthen it, by enabling the nervous system to put forth
all its powers ; and as for the water, it is easily replaced
by appropriate beverages; All the nutritive elements
contained in the blood are preserved intact, and it is only
a salutary purification it undergoes by perspiration.
Hence, all persons who have taken Turkish Baths, even
daily, far from complaining of weakness, state that
they are in better health, stronger and more lithe-
some."

In support of this opinion Dr. Gosse cites the following
facts: "M. Jules Eochette, of Geneva, had to superintend
certain establishments in the department of Vaucluse, in
France, for preparing madder roots for dyeing. To dry
the roots before reducing them ' to powder, they were
put in large stove-rooms arranged in rows. The air

Chap. VII.] 191

in the rooms was almost dry, and, in spite of the
evaporation from the roots, remained perfectly transparent.
More than a hundred men worked night and day by turns
in these rooms, completely naked, with the exception of a
handkerchief round the waist, and were constantly bathed
in perspiration. While in this state they had to go
into the yard to fetch the bales of roots, even while very
cold north winds were blowing, the work was fatiguing,
for the bales were heavy, weighing as much as 80
kilogrammes, and attending to them in the hot rooms
was not less laborious. The men often fell asleep in the
outer passages, exposed to a cold air with nothing on
them but a cloth. Nevertheless M. Rochette never saw
them inconvenienced or ill through this exposure, but
found them, on the contrary, always strong and lithe-
some."

Thus the supposition that the bath debilitates by exciting Dr. Barter
copious sweating is alike inconsistent with the experience {^ Bath"
and repugnant to the conclusions of sound physiology. It }" <^"** o^
is, indeed, to the very copious sweating the bath induces
that a large portion of its incomparable medical merit is
attributable, freeing the body as it does of all poisonous
waste matter. One of the first cases of lunacy which
Dr. Barter treated with the hot-air bath was that of a man
who had been nine years in the Lunatic Asylum of Cork,
and who, on taking his first bath, said he considered the
bath good for everybody. On being asked his reason for
so thinking, he replied in these words : " When I was
working in the fields my sweat rolled down from me like
water. It had no nasty smell, nor disagreeable taste.
Now, sir," said he, *' my perspiration is thick and nasty,
like oil. It has a bad smell and worse taste. When the
cook puts a pot on the fire with a piece of meat or veget-
able to boil, doesn't the fire throw the impurities to the

192 [Chap. VII.

top, and doesn't she take a spoon and skim them off? '*
In that answer is contained the whole philosophy of the
Turkish Bath. It is a well-known fact that if a plaster
be placed over the mouth and nostrils a person would die,
in like manner, if the body be coated over with any
adhesive substance, death will result ; thus showing that
the skin is a breathing organ, as well as an excretory;
so that not only is the body freed by the profuse perspira-
tion induced by the batli from all matter inimical to its
well-being, but the system is at the same time prepared
to receive a good supply of oxygen from the atmosphere.
Import- In fact, it may be said that cceteris paribusy the strength
abundance ^^ ^^^^ person's constitution is in direct proportion to the
of pureair. quantity of oxygen which his system is capable of imbib-
ing ; for on this the purity of his blood, the vitality of his
system, and, as a necessary consequence, his health
depends. Hence arises the importance of supplying the
system with an abundance of pure air, and the absolute
necessity, when the lungs are by nature small and
deficient, of increasing that supply of air through the only
other medium open to us, namely, the skin — the great
supplementary organ to the lungs, as it has been called —
the necessity for improving and developing the absorptive
powers of which is in exact proportion to the lungs'
diminished capacity. In this lies the great therapeutic
value of the hot-air bath, namely, in opening the pores
of the skin, and improving that medium for the supply of
oxygen to the blood.
Dr. Shep- As Dr. Sheppard, Medical Superintendent of Colney
Opinion Hatch Lunatic Asylum, expresses it, an invigoration takes
place ^* arising from the contact of the unscurfed skin
with particles of caloric and from the newly^acquired potoer
of drinking in oxygen through channels previously closed up^^
that is, through the pores of the skin.

CuAP. VII.] 193

Dr. C. Lockhart Robertson, Metropolitan Inspector of Dr. C.
Lunacy, and formerly Medical Superintendent of Hay ward's Bobertson
Heath Lunatic Asylum, in treating insanity, says : — ^^"^f ^®^
^^ In one instance of acute mania, depending apparently on Insanitv.
recent small-pox, I found imm3diate relief of the maniacal
symptoms follow the administration of the bath. My great
success has been with cases of melancholia, with refusal of
food, and loss of strength and flesh. In several cases of
melancholia, complicated with phthisis in its earlier stage,
a great improvement both of the mental and physical
symptoms has followed the treatment."

" In a case of apparently confirmed dementia— the patient
was unable even to tell his name, restless and destructive,
was much reduced in health, and there was dropsy in the
lower limbs, with albuminous urine of a marked character ;
he gradually got worse, and after he had been a month in
the asylum, I sent him to the bath almost as a forlorn hope.
The result of a month's treatment of the bath twice a
week was, that dropsy disappeared, that no trace of
albumen was found in the urine, and the man is apparently
convalescent : he is w^orking at his trade as carpenter.
The bath, as a remedial agent, is grateful to the feelings
of the insane, and which they do not, like other means of
washing, associate with the idea of punishment.

" I must not omit to notice a specific power to remove
noxious secretions of the skin so frequent with the insane,
and which, in asylums of twenty years ago, one could recog-
nize as distinctly as the smell of a dog kennel, and which
still sometimes refuses to yield to ordinary ablution. The
Turkish bath entirely removes this unpleasant complication."

Dr. Balbirnie says : *'The practical views now suggested pr. Bui-
in connection with the Turkish Bath, when pushed to their bimie-g
legitimate consequences, will effect, we believe, a great Turkish
revolution one day in medical treatment, and will influence ^^'^s*

194 [Chap, VIL

for goe<l the destinies of thousands of unborn generations.
I obaUenge my respected medical brethren to refute the
distinct proposition I lay do\vnon this head: viz., deficient
oxydntion of the waste of the body lies at the foundation
of most diseastt-^-^mevil aggravated in chronic disease by
the attempts of the system to compensate this defect by
abstracting oxygen from the food. Disprove this allegation
who can ! Beyond all qneetion, this infra*oxydation is the
starting point of gout, of rheumatism, of diabetes, of
granular kidneys, of fatty degeneration, of many forms
of fever, and of some others of our gravest diseases. If
so, what is pointed out as the cure of this state of matters ?
Less trust to mere drugs, unquestionably ; and more at-
tention to open, and keep open, the body's safety-valves.
This can always be done by the simplest natural agency.
• • • • If I were asked to give a brief and distinctive
definition of the Turkish Bath, I would say : It is that
which claims the exclusive or pre-eminent power of physio-
logically opening the safety-valves of the living mechanism ;
or, in other words, developing a high activity of the depu-
rating economy of the animal body ; and so fulfilling the
first grand indication for the cure of all diseases,"

It is this double function of the skin — its breathinir
capacity, so to speak — at once an excretory and an absorbent
organ, that enables the bath to act so generally, so power-
fully, and so successfully as a therapeutic or curative agent.
" It will balance the circulation sooner than any other
means I know," said Dr. John Armstrong. '^ The patient
is raised y as by the touch of a magic wand, from weakness
to strength."
Turkish It would carry me much beyond the limits assigned to
Baths can- ^j^-jg chapter to further treat of the therapeutic value of
colds. the hot-air bath, but I may mention a favourite objection
that is urged against it by the uninitiated, namely, that

Ghap. Vn.] 195

it renders the body Busceptible to cold. Speaking on
this point, Erasmus Wilson says: **The bath, properly
conducted, cannot give cold. In truth, it is one
of the great recommendations of this form of bathing, as
peculiarly suitable to that class of people who are poorly
fed, badly housed, and Trorse clad, that by no other means
can the human body be so well fortified against the in-
jurious effects of cold." With reference to the same
objection. Dr. Sheppard says: ^*The bath is the best
preservative against the vicissitudes of temperature. It
imparts a vigour and a power to resist cold, which are as
remarkable as they are undoubted." Again : " It is a
common experience," says Dr. Thudicum, ^^ that persons
liable every winter to attacks of catarrh, bronchitis, or
neuralgia, acquire a perfect immunity from these com-
plaints."

Another objection, which has been repeatedly raised by Turkish
medical men as militating against the adoption of mycp^tes an
proposal, is one which has more truth in it. It is that appetite,
the bath, by stimulating the skin, and consequently the
general animal economy, increases the appetite. This the
bath certainly does do, and it is surely but a very shallow
argument to make one of the best signs of its medical
merits an objection against its use ; money is better spent
in bread than physic.

No doubt, like every other good thing, the bath may Dn MiUin-
'be injudiciously employed ; but assuming, as we have a T^J-tSh ^
riffht to do, its proper administration under competent ^^^^
superintendence, then, indeed, so far from having a the poor
tendency to impair vitality, or in any other way to act ^^ Turkej.
injuriously on the system, its eff*ect is highly beneficial
and salutary. Dr. Millingen, whose testimony is entitled
to consideration, as he resided at Constantinople for some
years in the capacity of physician to the Sultan, and en-

196 [Chap. VII.

joyed an extensive personal experience of the bath in the
East, adverting to its use by the labouring population^
says : ** The working classes among the Turks know of
no other means of prevention on feeling indisposed but the
bath. It is looked upon so much in the light of a panacea,
by the lower orders, that they hardly ever dream of con-
sulting a physician when taken unwell. If the bath fail
to cure them, nothing elae will succeed. This prevailing
conviction accounts in a great measure for the total absence
of dispensaries and civil hospitals, not only in this large
city (Constantinople), but throughout the whole empire.
Yet I apprehend from the tables of mortality monthly
published that the mortality is not greater than it is in
countries blessed with those institutions. The hiocher
classes, and women especially, do not, as with us, know
much about regular exercise, so that, were it not for the
ample compensation afforded by the bath, they would not
enjoy the excellent health they possess.'*
Absence of Yet, notwithstanding the undoubted advantaores possessed

Turkish . . .

Bathfl in by the Turkish Bath as a therapeutic agent, there is not.
Hospitals, jjg J jjjjyg already stated, in the whole of London a single

dispensary, and only one hospital, where a patient can
have a sweating-bath. More than this, there is not a
single Turkish Bath in the metropolis — within the means
of the poor — to which an hospital or dispensary practitioner
can send his patient. '

This want of free bathing is the greatest, and by no
means the most creditable, anomaly in the administration
of our medical charities. The neglect in the treatment of
the poor by an agent so simple and safe, economical and
salutary, as the bath incontestably is, becomes the more
striking and reprehensible when we consider to what an
alarming extent gratuitous drugging prevails.

No matter how desirable a dispensary practitioner might

Chap. VII.] 197

consider a hot-air bath to be, either as an active thera- DifficuUica
pentic agent in the treatment of disease, or as an efficient tnf"'^
auxiliary, he is powerless to employ it. He may be2J^??°s
thoroughly persuaded that, in many cases, bathing would Baths,
be far preferable to drugging; yet, by the consummate
wisdom that regulates the administration of our medical
affairs, he is absolutely precluded from availing himself
of the remedial agency of hot air, while deleterious drugs
and pernicious stimulants, without stint, are placed at his
disposal.

Now, were my proposal adopted of having hot-air baths
attached to baths and washhouses as well as to hospitals
and dispensaries, the hospital physician would be enabled to
prescribe a sweating-bath to his poorest patients with the
certainty of their being able to carry out his instructions.
He would thus, in addition to giving relief to the patient,
be conferring an indirect benefit upon the poorer and more
ignorant portion of the community, by inculcating in the
popular mind the necessity of absolute cleanliness, and the
constant correlativeness of uncleanliuess with disease. Nor
would the generality of the medical world be slow to take
advantage of the means thus placed at their disposal.
Indeed, many deplore the present state of things, which
prevents them making use of so invaluable a remedy. A
gentleman who has had extensive experience as a dispensary
and hospital practitioner, and whose high opinion of the
bath is based on its medical virtues, says : ^^ lam an ardent
advocate, from medical principles, ofthe practice of Turkish
Baths, and quite concur in the sentiment of the British
Medical Association, that there ought to be baths of hot
air in every city, town, and village ; no medical institution
can be worthy of the name without them^ for disease is not
to bo cured by mere drugs alone." And Dr. Richardson,
at the late meeting of the Social Science Association, when

198 [Chap. VII.

describing his model city of health, Hygeia, said he would
have all his hospitals ^^ supplied on each side with ordinary
baths, hot-air baths, vapour baths, and saline baths."
Batbs "Were it, indeed, with no other end in view than the

lesion the reduction of the poor rates, the dispensaries and hospitals
poor rates, ought to be provided with means of prescribing such
a bath. In parishes where sickness and disease most
abound, there, as a natural consequence, the burden of
supporting the indigent poor is the most onerous ; for
where the heads of families are stricken down with illness,
the maintenance of their helpless children necessarily
devolves upon the Poor-law Cruardians. Eeferring to
this matter in their Second Beport on the state of large
towns and populous districts, the Commission of Inquiry
have the following remarks : " The loss of life which
occurs annually from a neglect of the measures neces-
sary for rendering wholesome the dwellings of l^e poor
and the streets adjacent, must be accompanied by serious
pecuniary charges both upon the sufferers themselves and
upon the community. The prolonged attacks of sickness
which precede this excessive mortality, render the victims
of it incapable of following their daily occupations, and
reduce them and their families to the necessity of seeking
relief from the parish and other funds, which are eventu-
ally burdened with the maintenance of the surviving
members of the family."
Turkish Now colds and other maladies, from which tiie poor are
uTe m)w^^ such heavy sufferers, are, as we have seen, if treated in
from their early stages, easily cured by the use of the Turkish
expens^.^ Bath. It is, therefore, both less costly as well as more bene-
volent to place at the disposal of the labouring classes such
means as will enable them to ward offer cure sickness in its
incipient stage, than to allow them to fall inta ill-health, and
thus to bring misery into their families and expense upon

Chap. VIL] 199

the parish. Yet such is the system now in existence.
Surely it is time that so irrational and expensive a state
of aflElairs was put an end to ; and it is to the interest of
ratepayers to see that it is. Let them ever bear this
truth in mind — and no principle in political economy is
more sure — that the more baths there are, the less disease;
and the less disease, the fewer demands on the poor rates.

It must be admitted, however, that a great deal of the
apathy hitherto exhibited on this subject has arisen^ not
so much from an indifference to the interests of the sick
poor as from a want of knowledge concerning the -great
inherent virtues of the bath which has so generally pre-
vailed amongst all classes up to within a very recent
period. But now that public opinion is being enlightened
in this respect, and that medical men connected with our
hospitals, lunatf asylums, workhouses, and other public
institutions for the treatment of disease, have successfully
tested and favourably recognized its high sanitive and
therapeutic merits, it is to be hoped that a brighter period .
in the annals of the bath is about to dawn.

Indeed, when we consider how 'exceedingly dij£oult it Prospects
is to contend- against the pride of professional dogma, BaSt''"*^
which clings with a superstitious reverence to old habits increasing
of thought and practice, and how hard it is to sur-JarSy?^*
mount opposition that arises from popular ignorance and
prejudice, as well as to overcome official inertia, instead
of wondering at the tardy progress the bath has made
towards becoming a national institution both for the preven-
tion and cure of disease among the poor, it is surprising that
without any adventitious aids, and in defiance of all impedi-
ments, it has made its way so successfully. Such indeed is
the vitality of a good thing that it is sure in the long-run to
overcome all opposition ; knowing this, and knowing also
that there is now an intelligent desire on the part of the

200 [Chap. VII.

public to give an unprejudiced trial to all reasonable
improvements, I can confidently predict that in twenty
years' time no hospital will be without its hot-air bath^
and that the town which has not its public baths — the
hot-air bath included — will beieonsidered in as bad a state
OS a town is now that has no system for the. disposal
of its sewage.

HEALTH.

*' Health is that which makes yonr meat and drink both sayonry and
pleasant ; else natnie's injonction of eating and drinking were a hard task
and a slaTish custom. Health is that which makes your bed easy and
your sleep refreshing ; tiiiat reviyes your strength with the rising snn
and makes yon cheerful at the light of another day ; 'Us that which fills
up the hollow and uneven places of your carcase and makes your body
plump and comely ; 'tis that which dresseth you np in Nature's richest
attire, and adorns your face with her choicest colour^ 'Xis that which
makes exercise a. sport and walking abroad the enjoyment of your
liberty. 'Tis that which makes fertile and increaseth the natural endow-
ments of your mind and preserves them long from decay ; makes your
wit acute and yonr memory retentive. 'Tis that which supports the
fragility of corruptible body, and preserves the verdure, vigour, and
beauty of youth. 'Tis that which makes the soul take delight in her
mansion, sporting herself at tlie casements of your eyes. 'Tis that which
makes pleasure to be pleasure and delights delightful, without which
yon can solace yourself in nothing of terrene felicity or enjoyments."

Chap. VIII.] 201 *

CHAPTER VIIL

Small-pox.

TEIE small-poz epidemic being very great at this time,
I have deemed this a fitting opportunity for making
some observations on inoculation and vaccination as
prophylactics, and to offer some remarks on the treatment
of the disease by physical means.

The origin of disease, and especially of great and 9^^}? °^
wide spread epidemic and endemic diseases, has been
always, in the history of science and medicine, a
subject of eager, anxious, and often angry discussion ;
and when specifics were supposed to be found, or general
modes of treatment became popular, these were as much
disputed as the maladies themselves. Small-pox and
its alleged cures or mitigations are no exceptions. It is
almost certain, although not universally entertained
that small-pox broke out in some original centre favour-
able to its development, and passed by contagion, or
infection from nation to nation, community to community,
and individual to individual ; until at last it became an
hereditary taint, or as the Chinese express it, ^^ imbibed
with mother's milk.'*

In looking for the place of its origin those who attri-
bute its birth to some one centre favourable to its exist-
ence have greatly differed in opinion; the majority

202 [Chap- VIIL

nnftintAJn that it waa generated among the Arabs, and
that it spread into Europe as an accompanying attendant
upon the Mohamedan conquest?.

No mention is made of small-pox in the works of
Greek and Koman authors, although many other irrup-
» tiire diseases are described, such as erysipelas, scrofula,
lepra, &c. From this it is reasonably assumed that
those enlightened nations were free from this distemper.
According to an ancient Arabic MS. the small-
])0Z originated or was introduced into Arabia in the
year a.d. 572 which is historically remarkable as the
yeta which gave birth to Mohamed. From other
authentic Arabic MSS. it would appear that it was
at the siege of Mecca that the Arabians were first stiicken
by this pestilence, and it is observable that after great
sieges and campaigns it has frequently appeared and
been signally destructive.
Progress ])f. Rimbc an able writer traces the progress of small-
pox, pox from Arabia in the following terms, ^^ The conquests
of the false prophet, and his fanatic followers soon
extended far and wide ; and as may easily be conceived
the ravages of the new disease .followed everywhere the
track of the conquerors, who in less than half a century
had established their dominion not only over Egypt and
Syria, but a great part of Persia also."

In the eighth century, however, the disease certainly
appeared in Europe, when the whole Southern Coasts
of the Mediterranean were subdued by the impetuous
Arabs, so that it entered by the gates of Hercules
through the medium of the Mohamedan Moors. But it
is remarkable that although Spain first felt the breath
of the pestileBce, it has been, from some unknown cause,
less afflicted by it for some centuries than other nations
of Europe.

Ghap. Vm.] 203

Mr. James Moore, a Member of the Royal College of Small-pox
SurgeoDs, in describing the landing of an army of Moors into Spain.
in Gibraltar and Spain, says: — "By this invasion the
small-pox must have been brought ijito Spain^ and the
victorious Saracens soon reached the Pyrenees. In the
year a.d. 731^ Abderame crossed these mountains, and
inundated the South of France with a host of Saracens.
They were opposed under the walls of Tours by Charles
Martel, when Christians and Mahomedans fought six
days indecisively for victory, but in a cloaer combat on
the seventh day the impetuous but slender Arabs gave
vray. The Saracens and Koran were repelled .into
Spain, but the small-pox remained in France.

The Saracen fleets were triumphant in the Mediter-
ranean ; Sicily, Italy and many cities of the coast were
frequently invaded. It cannot be doubted that this
intercourse with Africa and Asia introduced this disease,
although no direct proof can be adduced. The circum-
stantial evidence is conclusive."

America received the malady from Spain, where it Small-pox
spread rapidly among the Indian Tribes. It was intro- "^^™®"^*
duced into British America fram England in the same
way as alcoholic drink was brought to the natives by the
British settlers, England having received the infection
from the European Continent.

Whether the disease was brought into Europe by the
Saracens, or not, it is reported to have existed in India
anterior to its prevalence among that people. From
India, small-pox was landed upon tbe coasts^ of Arabia^
and thence entered Persia. If this is corrert it would
appear that Arabia itself derived the infection from India. .

Whenever the nations of Western and Central Asia, quitieB of
of Africa, and of Europe may have received the ^*^®5^ £
disease, Chinese records are of far greater antiquity Small-pox.

204 [Chap. VIIL

than any we have of its visitation to those regions.
** China, the puzzle of antiquity/' anticipated Europe
in various useful arts, criminal acts, and dire diseases,
and there seems not much room for doubt that this
most terrbile of inflictions, was known to the Chinese
many ages before authentic history ascribes it to
Arabia. The Jesuit missionaries gained access to the
archives of the empire, and amongst a vast amount of
information which they have given to Europe we find
specific accounts of small-pox disease. The appearance
of the malady is assigned to a very early period, 1122
years B.C. The Hindoo mythology and worship also
indicate in their respective modes the existence of some
such disease.

From these facts it is not surprising that the idea
should prevail that the calamity should have had many,
or at all events, several spontaneous centres. China,
India, Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, &c., but whether from
one, or several, or many, it spread with alarming facility
and fatality, until the whole world was cursed with its
appalling effects as by the cholera or plague.
Develop- For many ages the development of small-pox was ac-
SmnU-TOx. counted for by contact with the diseased, by inhaling
the effluvia from their bodies, garments, or apartments ;
sometimes from the conditions of the atmosphere, from
humid or fetid exhalations, or from water poisoned . by
invisible fungi or other indeterminate agencies. The pre-
sence of gases that were not analyzed, or which were be-
yond analyzation was also made to account for the malady.
A modern writer of eminence denies that the disease is
caused by any epidemic atmospherical influence, he says,
** If there exists anything in the atmosphere capable of in-
juring any one person^s health it must injure all, as they
would be by the effects of a strong wind, or heat, or cold»

Chap. VIIL] 205

or as they would be by the effects of arseniC} or carbolic
acid inhaled^ or an electrical shock, fire, water, &c.
Hence, if we observe that only a portion, perhaps a
third, or even much less, of a given population becomes
seriously affected, while all the rest are entirely free,
then we must logically conclude that there was some-
thing different in the organism of the affected from those
who were exempt ; that the reason, or cause of their
being affected, is in themselves, and not in the atmosphere
alone."

Doctor Both, of Boston, United States, cnergeti- Dr. Both
cally urges this upon the consideration of all medical j^edispo-
men, possible patients, statesmen and citizens of »tion to
Christendom. He observes — " In all epidemics, such as '^* "^^^'
cholera, small-pox, yellow fever, typhus, &c., we find it
gene;rally admitted that the affected persons have shown
a predisposition, while those who continued in health
were so constituted as to escape uninjured; therefore
it is of no consequence to learn whether minute spores
float in the atmosphere, carrying the germ of those
diseases, or whether gases escape from the earth or from
diseased persons, or whether electrical currents, or un-
even pressure of the atmosphere, or whatever may be
thought to be the infecting agent, we have only to do
with the susceptibility of the persons interested. If we
can avoid the predisposition we need have no fear about
the atmosphere or other supposed agencies — we are
invulnerable."

According to Dr. Both, a German physician, the pre- Salt an
disposition to small-pox consists in the elimination or?^|^P*f°
absence of the natural salts from the blood, which may be pox.
caused by food, if that does not contain them, such as stall-
fed meat, and the disuse of table-salt either from taste,
habit, or necessity, or from the excessive use of alcohol, by

206 [Chap. VIII.

which he najntains they are destroyed ; and hence^ he
argu^ that in the case of comnmnities^ cities^ districts^
or individuals^ small-pox may be spontaneously developed.
After all the long wars in Europe^ when from the pres-
sure of other important business the salt mines were
neglected^ it has invariably made its appearance.
He thinks that the disease is identical with typhus^
typhoid, and other fevers. In fact, the learned doctor
appears to be of opinion that there is but one disease,
named differently according to the locality in which it is
developed, and that small-pox may be indicated in the
intestines as in typhus, or elsewhere^ as well as on the skin^
according to the constitution, or peculiar condition of
the sufferer's health immediately before falling sick.
What 18 Dr. Both thus answers the question What is small-
pox? pox? ^^It must be admitted by all that small-pox
consists in an escape or exudation of something into the
skin which causes it to swells and by a procens of putre-
faction destroys it, and not unfrequently carries off the
patient. This mass, which is thus exuded, or thrown off
into the skin, must necessarily oome from the blood,
therefore it must be something which is abnormal, t>r
there must be something which has deranged the whole
system to such a degree that the blood, as a consequent,
is disturbed in an exceedingly peculiar way." Upon
this basis he reasons that the '^offending somethiitg''
must be found in the albuminous combinations or the
blood salts; he, by petitis principSey assumes that the
serum cannot be the offender, as it is a solvent only.
The disturbance of the necessary proportions of water,
albumen, and salts, his doctrine, constitutes disease, and
and developes small-pox. He sums up his theory
thus : — ^* The predisposition to small-pox consists in an
undue proportion of albuminous matter to the blood- salts.

CiiAP. VIIL] 207

and that^ as the result, an otherwise inoffensive nervous
irritation becomes sufficient to cause the blood to part
with this superfluous albumen, which, in this case, is
thrown into the skin, and constitutes that condition
which is commonly called small-pox. And we further
maintain that a person who does not exhibit this super-
abundance of albuminous matter in his blood is not liable
to small-pox under any circumstances of exposure, or
contact with patients suffering under this disorder."

Although Dr. Both admits that there are concomitant Conditions
conditions favourable to the production of the disease, to Small-
he maintains that the disease will, or is likely, to be spon- ^^'
taneously produced in any climate or soil, in any commu-
nity, and in any individual, when an adequate quantity
of salt is not used. ^^ It will invariably be found that the
ravages of small-pox are principally confined to those
cities, countries, or localities where the population is
overcrowded, or dwells in close unventilated tenements,
with habits and surroundings which are bad, living for
the most part in the use of alcohol, with little or no salt,
and upon food which does not constitute the elements for
creating the best blood, and have no means of bathing or
cleaning their bodies."

Finally, according to this medical philosopher, there
is no danger of taking small-pox by attending upon
patients, or consorting with them, if the blood be not
deficient in its salts.

I am not in a position to endorse the arguments that
salt is an antiseptic to the disease, having had no ex-
perience in that direction, I am compelled to admit that
the facts produced are such as ought to command the
attention of the medical faculty, and their accuracy should
be proved by investigation.

It is deplorable that the prevalence of the calamity.

208 [Chap. VIII.

the vast numbers swept away by it, the loathsome con-
comitants, and the deformity entailed upon survivors, has
failed to quicken the philosophy or sagacity of the faculty
in any country clearly to investigate its cause or cure.

The disease has been called in this country, and per-
haps elsewhere in Europe, ** the opprobrium of the
faculty." It is in fact, if not quite true, nearly so, when
the only means at the disposal of the profession is vaccin-
ation as a preventive, and isolation as a counteraction to
its spreading.
Specifics The first specific in treating small-pox was inocula-
pox inocu- tion. Like the disease itself this preventive was of
lation. Eastern origin. Lady Montague supposed that the
results she witnessed in the East justified her in using her
influence with the Court and the public, for the intro-
duction of inoculation in this country. Many supposed
it to be efficacious in preventing a recurrence of the
disease; or at all events in mitigating the visitation.
But this procedure of ** anticipating the disease " was
regarded by very many as unphilosophical, and morally
improper, and even while it was much practised was
generally doubted, and resorted to with misgiving and
dissatisfaction.

We have evidence that the Chinese resorted to it, in
the hope that inoculation would mitigate the disease and
prevent recurrence. No doubt they were influenced
by observing how very differently persons were affected,
and the mildness of some cases led them to suppose that
inoculation from such a type of the disease would pro-
duce its like, but viewed in the light of modern science
and experience it is well-known that the disease when
taken from a person lightly afflicted is often of the
severest kind.

The Chinese attempted to propagate this milder, form

Chap. VIIL] 209

of the disease, by the following curious and ridiculous
method, which they oddly termed — *^ sowing the small-
pox." " They took a few dried small-pox scabs, and
planted them in the nose. A bit of musk was added in
order to correct the virulence of the poison, and perhaps
to perfume the crusts, and the whole was wrapped up in
a little cotton to prevent its dropping out of the nostril.
Some physicians beat the crusts into powder, and
advised their patients to take a pinch of this snufF, and
when they could not prevail upon them, they mixed it
with water into a paste, and applied it in that form."

Inoculation in the arm originated with the Brahmins. A Inocula-
few slight scratches were made on the skin with a sharp j^^^^ *
instrument, a piece of cotton which the preceding year
had been soaked in variolus matter was then applied,
moistened with the holy water of the Ganges, and the . •
preparation was bound upon the punctures. In six hours
the bandage was taken off and the pledget allowed to
drop spontaneously. The next morning cold water was
poured upon the head and shoulders of the patient, which
was repeated until the fever came on. When the pustules
began to change their colour they were opened with a
fine pointed thorn. Confinement was absolutely for-
bidden ; the patients were allowed to be exposed to free
currents of air, and when the fever was upon them, they
lay on mats at the door, and their regimen consisted of
the refrigerating productions of the climate.

It is supposed by those who believe that the disease S^yjP^ „

,- - , . e A 1 • 1 . 1 . the Small-

itself found its way from Arabia, that inoculation pox.
may be traced to the same source. The practice
of " buying the sraall-pox," was general in Arabia,
and all along the African coast. A healthy child
was brought, bearing a few dates or raisins as the price
of the matter to be taken from an infected child. This

p

210 [Chap. VIIL

strange arrangement was ultimately introduced into

Europe^ and to some limited extent was known in

England.

Inocula- The medical profession of this country made no recog-

tised m'*^' ^^^^^^ ^^ *h® practice until the year 1703, when one Dr.

England. Alpech^ having noticed at Constantinople the process of

inoculation prevailing there, and being of opinion that it

mitigated the pestilence^ recommended it in London.

Very shortly afterwards a British surgeon named

Kennedy > who had also practised at Constantinople^

published a work in favour of inoculation^ or as he

termed it ^'engrafting the small-pox."

Great numbers^ however, regarded it as unnatural and
injurious, and perhaps greater numbers, admitting that
it was advantageous in the individual case, objected to it,
* as a means of far more widely extending the pest, and it

fell very much into disuse in the British Isles. Con-
cerning it at that juncture, the following curious passage
occurs in an old number of 'the Quarterly Review published
early in this century : —

*^ When in this dormant state, news was brought that
multitudes of Indians in South America had been
inoculated with as much success by Carmelite friars as
the Asiatics had been by Greek old women ; a physician
and surgeon also began to inoculate in South Carolina,
in 1738, and only lost eight out of a hundred persons.
But a planter in St. Christophers inoculated three
hundred persons without losing one. For it is singular
that in those days all inoculations performed by private
gentlemen, monks, and old women were uniformly
successful, none lost patients from inoculaiio7i except the
regular members of the faculty. The American reports
were so encouraging that about the year 1740 the
practice was revived by a few surgeons in various parts

CuAP. VIIL] 211

of the South of England^ and gradually extended
there."

In 1754 the Eoyal College of Physicians gave iiioeu*
lation their sanction.

An irregular practitioner named Sutton, discarding Inocnla-
the complicated methods of the faculty, was very success- revived by
ful in propagating inoculation, and to him may be Sutton,
attributed its revival during thelatter half of the eighteenth
century, when small-pox spread over nearly all Europe,
Spain having been the exception, and it is remarkable
that the disease spread less in that country tlian in any

other.

During the last thirty years of the century, however,
deaths, blindness, disfigurement, and ruined constitutions,
were augmented by the pestilence, the public became
alarmed, and the practice of inoculation became again
unpopular.

Dr. Both says that ^^ in the whole literature of science,
And in the experiments .and improvements made in
ecientific knowledge there does not exist one single fact
which could support the idea that inoculation was a
preventive of small-pox." He says the same also of
vaccination, which now comes under consideration.

The name of Jenner, and the origin of his discovery, Introduo-
are too well known to narrate the circumstances attend- vacc?na-
ing the introduction of inoculation by vaccine matter as tion by
a preventive of small-pox. His observation of the free-
dom of dairy maids from the latter, and the presence of
cow-pox in their persons, suggested to him the experi-
ment of inoculating the one disease, as a substitute or
anticipation of the other. It is contended by some that
the adoption of this remedy or preventive was not the
result of his own observation, but be this as it may, he
introduced the plan, and by his authority, ability, and

212 [Chap. VIII.

perseverance inacle it popular with the peoples and
governments of Europe, and eventually in America and
other parts of the world.

It was in the year 1768 that Jenner's attention was
first drawn to the subject, but it was not until some
years afterwards that he thoroughly introduced his
system.
Je^^e' on His own account of it is as follows : — " The disease of
pox, cow-pox had been known in the dairies of Gloucester-

shire from time immemorial, and a vague opinion prevailed
that it was preventive of small-pox. This opinion, I
found, was comparatively new, for all the old farmers
declared they had no such ideas in their early days, a
circumstance which seemed easily accounted for from my
knowing that the common people were very rarely
inoculated for the small-pox till that practice was become
general by the improved method introduced by Sutton ;
so that working people in the dairies were very seldom
put to the test of the preventive power of cow-pox."

The public mind was prepared to receive almost any
specific, so terrible were the apprehensions of the dis-
order; and although Jenner and his disciples were much
opposed, especially by physicians and surgeons, who
" time out of mind " have opposed all new ideas and
theories, and all novelties of practice, good or bad, the
doctrine and practice of vaccination had a speedy triumph,
until finally an Act of the British Legislature made
vaccination compulsory.
Efficacy of Discussion has revived, and is now rife as to whether
tion^^^*" vaccination is as effective as the disciples of Jenner
disputed, believe, whether it is effectual at all, whether it does not
do more harm than good, and, under any circumstances
whether compulsory vaccination is. necessary or just.
On all these points many able men give a decided

Chap. VIIL] 213

negative^ and the opponents of vaccination are steadily
augmenting in numbers.

It is agreed that there are various eruptions to which Vaccina-
the teats of the cow are liable^ and that disease not liable to
intended by the vaccinators is frequently produced by ^[^er*^^
their inoculation ; carefully collected statistics support diseases,
the theory that true cow-pox is frequently attended by
injurious influences to the patient ; that erysipelas and
other diseases of the person from whom the lymph is
taken are given to the subject inoculated by it.

If it be admitted that small-pox has declined since the
discovery of Jenner's system, such opponents as admit
it declare that the circumstance is due to the superior
skill of modern medical practice ; to the prevalence of
more scientific knowledge on the part of the faculty ;
and above all to the advance of social and sanitarv
sdence, creating conditions unfavourable to the
development and spread of the disease. . Ifc is alleged
that since vaccination has prevailed the disease has
been checked and pitting greatly diminished; — But is
the credit of this improvement to be given entirely to
Jenner's discovery? Is it not due rather to a variety
of influences? Have not improved sanitary measures
and more skilful management of the disease had their share
in the good work ? One thing is certain, that where these
modifying influences are wanting, the disease and its
sequelce are still formidable, notwithstanding the most
careful attention to vaccination.

On the whole the present state of things is unsatisfac-
tory. The only hopes of checking the disease, on the
part of AllopathistSy are compulsory vaccination and isola-
tion. On these two points an American physician who
has recently written on the subject has made the follow-
ing pertinent remarks : —

214 [Chap. VIII.

Axga- ft That yaccination was made compulsory in good faith

Yn OTl i^D ^^

against by the Legislature, there is little doubt ; but if science
Vaccina- ^ere consulted in the matter, such a law would be found

uon.

to be barbarous, dangerous and abominable. If the
State demand vaccination, it should first give the suljject
proper investigation ; second, give protection from murder-
ous assault by blood-poisoning by procuring lymph,
which can stand microscopic examination ; and thirdly,
see that no laws are enforced which are based on an
experience which is very doubtful, or on an authority
of no weight of any kind, directly contradictory to all
scientific investigation and facts, and under present con*
difeions exceedingly dangerous and harmful."

Many other able works have been written against
vaccination, especially when compulsory, and the forcible
isolation of persons who have families and houses.

Dr. Pearce in his ^^ Essay on Vaccination " calls it ** a
crime against nature," and elaborately argues that it
frequently conduces to consumption.

Mr. T. Massey Harding, M.R.C.S., in a very effective
pamphlet, shows that cow-pox and small-pox are not in
any way similar, and that it is scientifically and physi-
cally impossible that the former can be a substitute for
the latter, or operate as a preventive.

Dr. Bayard, an eminent continental physician, identifies
emall-pox with typhus fever, differently named from
the parts of the body where it is locally indicated, and
argues that there is no scientific principle upon which it
could be assumed that cow-pox could be a preventive.

Several eminent medical writers testify that they have
seen cow-pox and small-pox at the same time in the same
patient.

Dr. Both lays down the following propositions : —

" First, that the origin of vaccination was not of a

Chap. VIII.] 215

scientific character, and that it never at any time had a
scientific basis.

^^ Second, that the prevention afforded is due to the
diminution of the excess of albumen by the ulcer produced.

^' Third, that .the vaccine virus generally employed is
nothing but pus, the introduction of which to the blood
is criminal under any circumstances.

" Fourth, that nothing specific or preventive is con-
tained in' any kind of vaccine virus, no matter how or
where produced."

It should not be lost sight of in the discussion of this Small-pox
subject that small-pox appeared to be dying out in Eng- when cow-
land about the time that cow-pox was introduced as a V^^ Y*^ .

, ■*■ , introduced

preventive, although as previously stated it raged upon
the Continent and the terror concerning it in the British
Isles was as great as ever. The virulence of the
disease had also abated, even where it somewhat
generally prevailed. Jenner himself states that in 1791
** A species of small-pox prevailed in many of the towns
and villages of Gloucestershire, It was of so mild a
nature that a fatal instance was scarcely ever heard of,
and consequently the lower orders of the community
in that district never scrupled to hold the same
intercourse with each other as if no infectious disease
existed among them. I never saw or heard of an instance
of its being confluent. The harmless manner in which it
showed itself could not arise from any 'peculiarity either in
the season or the weather, for I watched its progress
upwards of a y ear without perceiving any variation in its
general appearance." Vaccination was not then preva-
lent, or it would of course have got credit for the
immunity, but Jenner himself believed that the existence
of cow-pox extensively among the cattle in Gloucester-
shire, and communicated by them to the milkmen and

216 [Chap. VIII.

milkmaids accounted for the phenomenon ; but the like
was seen about the same period in other parts of the
country remote from Gloucestershire^ where it was
pretended that cow-pox appeared upon the tats of the
cattle.

From the first introduction of Jenner's preventive,
numbers of medical men reported the frequent recurrence
in the range of their practice of postvaccinal small-pox.
tion no Whatever may have been the utility of the discovery dur-

*°°f%i ^°S ^^^ quarter of a century, or indeed, less than that, after
preyentive its application, this has been for a long time admitted by
many, even of its most fervent advocates, that the spell
is broken, that vaccination is no longer even a probable .
preventive, and that a second inoculation by it is
necessary to secure whatever virtue there is in it, and
some affirm that this should be repeated every seven years.
So far back as 1833, the Medical Gazette^ in an article on
the subject, stated, " It is a well-known fact that small-pox
after vaccination has become of much more frequent
occurrence within the last few years. Twelve or fifteen
years ago cases were occasionally met with, but com-
paratively rarely. Since that time it is everywliere
becoming more frequent. It is no unusual circumstance to
find five or six individuals of the same family successively
attacked by the disease."

Several medical men during the lifetime of Jenner
proved that they had patients for small-pox who were
vaccinated by Jenner, and many of these occurred a
short time after the vaccination.
Objections The doctrine of re-vaccination, in order to give perfect
^tion*^^*" cff*^^* *^ *^^ remedy, is not without great and numerous
objections. Dr. Gregory, who was for some years phy-
sician to the small-pox hospital, stated, ^^ Abundant experience
has shown that after receiving cow-pox effectually, tho

Chap. VIIL] 217

human body remains insensible to the same poison for a
considerable period of time^ but for what that period
is, whether for life, or for larger or smaller portions of
life, are questions of importance deserving rigid in-
vestigation."

Such rigid investigation has never been given; the
theorists who favour vaccination every seven years do
80 from finding that a single " engrafting ". of the cow-
pox does not prevent the disease it was designed to
supersede, and does not mitigate its malignance.

Compulsory vaccination is. an intolerable tyranny, Compul-
against which the public should revolt. It is worse than ^^fon*^'
the hazard of small-pox itself, perhaps worse than itstyramiy.
advent, because of the consequences which the new
disease entails upon millions of persons of different con-
stitutions, in different circumstances, different states of
health, and diverse periods of life, especially if, as Mr.
Birch, an eminent surgeon, states, ^^ cow-pox has been
often fatal, and has introduced new disorders into the
human system," and this opinion is supported by
thousands of eminent men.

Dr. Moseley goes farther than this, alleging that " the
inoculated cow-pox is not a much milder nor safer disease
than the inoculated small-pox.

Mr. Stuart, a contributor to medical periodicals, and
himself a surgeon, relates an instance that came within
his practice, of a very healthy child, which after vaccina- \

tion became very sickly — " He was always afflicted with
blotches and ugly eruptions, until he had the small-pox
after an interval of three years, subsequent to his
recovery from that disease, when he became perfectly
healthy as before."

The ugly blotches and eruptions mentioned would not
yield to medical treatment, and bore no resemblance to

218 [Chap. VIIL

any diseases known to the faculty. Now, it would be
wrong to say ex una desee omnesy but it is quite right to
argue that so many cases have occurred, according to
the testimony of numerous medical men, of nasty, venoral,
dangerous, and intractable disorders after vaccination,
that Mr. Stuart fairly made out ** the cure to be worse
than the disease." If it be said that the vaccinated
matter was bad, or taken from an unhealthy person, such
may constantly occur in the process, and the statement is
itself an argument against vaccination. To subject the
whole adult population to repeated visitations of " ugly
blotches, and eruptions," through vaccination and re-
vaccination, would be an oppression and a cruelty on the
part of the most despotic Government, and would
effectually deteriorate the subjects.
Conaump- The allegation has been noticed en passant elsewhere in
increased ^^^^ cssay, that consumption has rapidly increased since
since vac- the introduction of vaccination. Jenner's own eldest son,
was intro- and a servant who were among the first he experi-
duced. mented upon, died of consumption. Of course it would be
useless to argue the one fact from the other, but for
the great number of instances of death from consumption
which occurred among Jenner's vaccinated patients and
those of his disciples. Neither can we conjecture, however
numerous the instances pointed out,, whether the induction
is a perfect one. This is for statists and medical philo-
sophers upon further investigation to determine.
Sources of Among the great varieties of opinions as to the origin
infection, ^f ^}^q distemper, and somewhat akin to the theory that
the cow can infect the human body with cow-pox, is
the idea that the camel first infected it with small-pox.
This is, however, exceedingly dubious, and requires
further evidence before it can be confirmed.

Allied to the notion of inoculation from the camel

Chap. Vin.] 219

18 Jenner's opinion that it was first communicated from
the horse to man^ from the human being to the coW)
and thence back again to man in the milder form of cow<
pox, this idea is expressed by him in the following
terms : —

*' That the source of the infection is a peculiar morbid
matter arising in the horse, I feel no hesitation^ being
well convinced that it never appears among the cows
(except it can be traced to a cow introduced to tho
general herd which has been previously affected) unless
they have been milked by some one who at the same
time has care of a horse affected with diseased heels."

This disease of the horse is called " grease," and is
always exuded from the heels.

Veterinary surgeons are supposed to have thrown some Veteri-
recent light upon the subject. We have seen that ^gj^gi ^^'"
Jenner supposed that the disease called *' grease^^ in opinions.
the horse was identical with small-pox, or essentially
like it; hence, he literally inoculated for the small-pox,
transmitted from one beast to another, as a medium for
its introduction to the human body, and was a supposed im-
provement upon inoculation from one human being to
another.' But Dr. Nittinger, of Stuttgard, has volumi-
nously written to prove the identity of *^ grease " in the
heel of the horse, with pulmonary consumption, and
veterinary surgeons, especially in Germany, have
supported this theory. If it be true, the cause, or one
cause at all events, of the great increase of Phthisis has
resulted from Jenner's discovery. Besides, small-pox
was a pestilential and terrible evil ages before "^r^ase"
in the heel of the horse was observed, which it must
have been if it existed, a fact fatal to Jenner's theory.
Dr. Both, already quoted on other points of this
controversy, and who, perhaps, has given as much

220

[Chap. VIII.

Vaccina-
tion

increases
fevers.

I)r. West
on vacci-
nation
and its
evils.

attention to the disease as any living man^ maintains
that the horse disorder, called " grease,"*' has no affinity
whatever to either small-pox or consumption, and could
not be made an instrument of communicating either, and
after extensive study and observation, denies Jenner's
theory that the horse gave the " grease " to man, man to
the cow, and the cow back again to man in a milder form.

Among the evils attributed to vaccination is a great
increase in fevers. There are no statistics published in
England to show the proportion of the vaccinated to
the unvaccinated among fever patients, but in France
there are such statistics, and the inference is unfavour-
able to vaccination. Dr. Perrin, a French physician,
affirms that the effect of vaccination in increasing fevers
in France has been very great. In an hospital under
his charge, of 154 cases of typhoid fever 76 had been
vaccinated, and of these 35 died; of 38 unvaccinated
3 died. The mortality is in the relation of 35 to 6,
nearly sixfold greater among those who had been
vaccinated.

Baron Michel, a. French army surgeon, affirms that
after the army of Paris was vaccinated, fevers increased
in the same proportion.

Similar statements have been made as to the increase
of measles, and the following curious paragraph is quoted
from the report of the Commissioners in the Parlia-
mentary Blue Book, and these gentlemen were all
Jennerites ; the particular witness in this instance was
Dr. "West, physician to the hospital for sick children.

" With reference to the alleged increased prevalence
of measles since the introduction of vaccination, it
suffices to say that vaccination preserves only from small-
pox, not from any other disease (sic). Measles is, next to
small-pox, the most contagious of all fevers. The child

Chap. VIIL] 221

who sixty years ago would have died of small-pox, is
now preserved from that, often only to catch, perhaps to
die of, measles. An increased number of deaths from the
latter disease was the unavoidable consequence of the compara^
tive extinction of tlie form^P

Dr, West's statement respecting the imperfect xnanner Imperfect
vaccination is performed is as follows : ^odna-

" As the best means of obtaining information on this tion is
point we examined the cicatrices on the arms of 49,570^^
vaccinated children in various schools, industrial estab-
lishments, and workhouses in London.

**0f these only 180 in a thousand were found to be
properly vaccinated,

*' In one-fifth of the whole number of children examined,
vaccination was found to be wholly bad."

From these statements it is deducible that even if cow-
pox be a preventive, no reliance can be placed upon its
general administration. Statistics bearing upon the
controversy have been gathered and arranged with pains-
taking assiduity by medical men of ability, vaccinators
and non-vaccinators, and judging with that impartiality
which a sincere inquiry after truth dictates, the weight
of evidence is against cow-pox inoculation. Besides,
as an eminent physician has observed, " Though vaccina-
tion can be made compulsory, the pure lymph, and skilful
and conscientious operator, cannot be made compulsory
also."

It is ccmtended that not only an increase of measles
has followed the practice, but of scarlatina and diphtheria,
also, which are now classed together in the Kegistrar-
GeneraVs reports. During the first seven years after the
Compulsory Vaccination Act came into force, the excess of
infant mortality from these diseases exceeded a quarter of
a million of lives.

222 [Chap. VIIL

Vaccina- It is very remarkable that in the Crimean Campaign
Army. of the war against Bussia^ the British and French soldiers
who had been generally vaccinated^ not only generated
small-pox^ from an unhealthy condition of the blood and
circumstances favouring disease, as Miss Florence Night-
ingale described, but they also in numerous cases died of
cholera^ as did also the Bussian soldiers, who were also
generally vaccinated, while Turkish troops, in the same
camps with the French and English and Turkish prisoners
in the Bussian camp, who were not vaccinated, very
extensively escaped.

The preventive power of cow-pox can be best argued
on the Baconian principle of induction. If it can be
shown by an induction which is complete that cow-pox
prevents or ameliorates small-pox, the question is settled
in favour of the vaccinators ; if the induction be imper-
fect, the subject remains in doubt until a sufficient
number of iEacts are collected and collated ; but if It can
be shown that cases sufficiently numerous can be made
out in which virulent small-pox ensued after vaccination,
the so-called discovery of Jenner is a failure ; and if any
mitigation of the disease has occurred since cow-pox was
introduced, to attribute to it the virtue, is what* logicians
term a non causa pro causa.
Quality of A few years ago the Privy Council published an
matter, official report in which the facts and propositions are laid
down. Dr. JBoth says, "The vaccine matter generally
employed is nothing but pus, as any one can see who has
a microscope of a power of three hundred diameters. The
vaccine matter upon which I made my statements was
obtained from the City physician, and at various times
during twelve years ; and in every instance, upon exami-
nation, proved to be nothing but pu3."

Dr. Bayard, who has given the disease and the statistics

Chap.VIIL] 223

of 8mall-pox and vaccination in France most earnest^
energetic, and extensive attention, says : — *^ Hopes, illu-
sions, chimera, deception, decadence — these make the
history of vaccination."

He adds that ^^ since the introduction of vaccination,
mortality has more than doubled in the ranks of youth."
And after adducing certain tables of health statistic for
the department of the Loire and the whole of France,
he deduces the conclusion that ^^ cow-pox has done
nothing but displace mortality."

Mr. William Ramley, a surgeon of extensive practice Dr.
in such cases, has the following remarkable passage in ^^a^^i.
his work on the subject: — ^*^lt results from the general nation.
resume of all these authentic facts that out of 504
persons, 75 died from the consequences, and almost all
had the sgiall-pox — some sooner, some later — after their
vaccination. There is no question here of supposition,
or calculation of probability, it is truth. It is evidence
which seems to speak, and leaves no doubt. Consider
France, Germany, Italy, and other countries where
vaccination has been received, penetrate into the interior
of houses, interrogate fathers and mothers, and you will
be surprised, shocked, and even outraged to see, not
only tolerated but maintained, a murderous practice,
which carries desolation into families and compromises
the reputation of thoso who protect or practice it."

The French mathematical scholar and physician, Popuia-
Camot, who had studied "all the available figures," *^°f^^*8
stated that in England the proportionate increase of the sustained
population had not been sustained since vaccination ^|^^®J^^*
became general;

Baron Liebig indirectly supports Oamot's idea of
the population^ the increase of which he attributes in
England to immigration from Ireland, Scotland, Wales,

224 [Chap. VIIL

and Germany^ rather than from the progressive and
proportionate advances in numbers of the English people
themselves.
Baron The great Baron Humboldt writes, " M. Schoulein,

on revac- 1^® ^^st physician to . the king, perceives with me
cination. i]^q progressive advances of opinion respecting the
dangerous influence of vaccination in France, Germany,
and England. The question of revaccination and the
repetition of revaccination becomes from year to year
more perplexed."
p,^ Dr. Gregory, some time physician of the London Small-

Gregory's pox Hospital, stated in a paper read before the Chirurgical
Society, " The idea of extirpating small-pox by vaccination
is absurd and chimerical. The small-pox attacks the
vaccinated. During eleven years 4091 persons attacked
with small-pox were admitted into the hospital : 2167 of
these had been vaccinated. In two years, out of 794
adult persons— nearly all vaccinated — 115 died."

Having glanced at the origin and progress of small-pox
to the present time and eliminated evidence of medical
men, and statistics from the most reliable sources,
opinions may be adduced to almost any extent against
inoculation and vaccination, as specifics against the
recurrence of small-pox.

The disease, ever since its introduction, has from time
to time committed its ravages regardless of any known
treatment, and I think the time is approaching when
Government will be compelled to modify the compulsory
measures which now violate every principle of liberty of
. the subject ; the evidence of the effects is so very un-
satisfactory, and the mode of administration so imperfect,
as to be open to grave consequences.

In reviewing the treatment of this disease, it is shown
that the faculty has not made much progress, if any, in

Chap. VIII.] 225

remedial measures ; the malady has proved as difficult to Bifficulty
deal with as the rinderpest among cattle^ and, in fact, the^^^^^^j^i.
legal management of the small-pox is very similar ; cattle of Small-
are put out of existence by the pole*axe^ and a large per-,
centage of human beings die from the manner the law is
administered. In both cases the law has prescribed and
laid down stringent rules under heavy penalties which in
some instances amount to tyranny.

Look at the practice resorted to of forcibly taking Forcible
persons out of their beds when in a high state ofp^^g^jj®
fever, placing them in a cold parish caravan, jolt-
ing them through the streets of London for miles, and
when the epidemic is bad it has be^n known that poor
patients are driven from hospital to hospital, until the
authorities found room to admit them. It cannot be
denied by medical men that to take any patient out of bed
in a feverish condition is a dangerous practice, and the
effect of the jolting and exposure to a chill tends to drive
in the eruption upon the viscera and endangers the life of
the patient. It is owing to this and other discomforts
attending removal that the mortality in hospitals has
been augmented as compared with the results of patients
treated in cottages or private houses. The only term I
can apply to such a dangerous practice is barbarism of the
olden time revived ; removing a patient from his own private
rooms, family, fireside, and social comforts, let them be
ever so humble, against his or their will is an act of great
injustice, and contrary to every principle of human feeling
and scientific practice.

Before proceeding to discuss the advantages to be Homoeo
derived from outward applications in the treatment of tr^itment
small-pox, I think it but just to notice another section ^^ Small-
of practitioners, viz., the homoeopaths, who are formid-
able rivals of the allopaths, and enjoy a considerable
Q

226 LGffAP. VIII.

share of public confideoce as evidenced by their thousands
of patients. It will be unnecessary here to consider the
nature and theory of their doctrine simila aimilibiis
eurantavj as they have always been able to defend their
principles and maintain their position against their
enemies in the domain of drug medication. I may observe
en passant that one of the most striking instances of the
validity of their infinitesimal system is vaccination^ the
imall quantity of pus or vaccine lymph which is con-
sidered sufficient for preventing or anticipating on.e of
the most loathsome diseases that ever afflicted humanity^
is far more insignificant in its potency than the roost
minute dose ever given by Hahnemann. Yet it is a curious
anomaly that homoeopathy should bo treated with
contempt and ridicule by the allopaths.

Without holding myself responsible for the principles
held for or against homoeopathy or allopathy^ I must
confess I have seen more favourable results produced in
children in the treatment of small-po^c by homoeopathy
than I have by allopathy.

In examining the literature of homoeopathy, which is
very extensive, one is forced to the conclusion that their
opinions are based upon such a philosophy as will
compare most favourably with those of the allopaths, and
it would be ridiculous to deny that they do not treat
small-pox, erysipelas, and other eruptive diseases as
effectually as their neighbours.

I know the prevailing opinion of allopaths that
homoeopathy is a pure system of expectancy. This,
however, is a matter I leave to the two bodies to settle
between themselves. I simply remark that "those who
live in glass houses should not throw stones." It is well
known to themselves that they give bread pills and other
harmless medicines, and their patients recover. This may

Chap. Vm.] 227

be due to sound medical advice, as it must not be
supposed that when a person consults his medical man
that it is always requisite he should have medicine
poured into him, hence, if homoeopathic medicines are
ineffectual th^ recovery of patients must be due to the
Buperior advice they receive, and it is rather a commen-
dation in favour of their doctrine than otherwise.

J. have noticed that homoeopathists, whatever their Homoeo-
opinions may be of their own medicines, are not above recognize
recognizing other remedial measures, regardless of their pg^jf^al
sources. As a proof it may be mentioned they resort measures.
to the wet sheet packing, bathing, &c., in eruptive
diseases : it is immaterial what means are used so long
as they cure their patients and do not set up other
diseases. I must say, whatever the pretensions may be,
or the arguments urged on the part of either " pathies,"
with regard to the virtues of their remedial measures
which have been brought to bear upon small-pox, their
efficacy, up to the present moment, has proved exceed-
ingly limited, or its ravages, when the disease did appear,
would be more effectually dealt with than it is by the
faculty of both schools ; in fact, in numerous instances,
they have acknowledged themselves powerless.

Such being the case, I hope that the few remarks I
have to urge in recommendation of another system will
command respectful attention ; but before doing so I feel
I must make some observations on the treatment of small-
pox with cream of tartar. It is scarcely necessary for
me to say that amongst my researches I have met with
numerous expedients which have been suggested by
scientific and philanthropic persons for the purpose of
rendering all the assistance they possibly could in
ameliorating a disease which has proved fatal to some of
our most robust people. In a pamphlet by a Mr. Kose,

228 [Chap, VIH

Treatment entitled, *^ A Safe, Speedy, and Certain Cure for Small-
pox with P^^*" ^^^ gentleman gives numerous instances of his
cream of success in curing small-pox with cream of tartar and
rhubarb. Singularly enough, some years ago I happened
to meet with Mr. Rose at Dorking; I found him
very intelligent, and he enunciated his theory with great
force. He says that cream of tartar, from its powerful
action on the skin, is, if rightly given, a specific for small-
pox; it is generally given with rhubarb, but not un-
frequently without; but in such instances rhubarb, or
some other simple aperient, is given afterwards to keep
the bowels open to a moderate degree. It is of the first
importance that the cream of tartar should be pure, as it
is often adulterated with alum and other deleterious
substances. It may be given in cold or warm water, but
boiling water must not be used, as it crystalizes the
cream of tartar on cooling, and destroys it virtues. His
treatment is as follows: — ^^For an adult add half an
ounce, or in severe cases with persons of strong constitu-
tion, three quarters of an ounce of cream of tartar, to half a
pint of boiling milk, strain (if preferred, a little sugar may
be added), and administer the whey quite warm to the
patient when in bed. A copious perspiration speedily
follows and continues for some hours. When this has
entirely ceased, the patient should, if possible, get up, as
lying in bed unnecessarily delays the recovery ; care
should be used, however, to avoid taking cold. The
treatment thus described can be adopted either in the cold
or fever stage. In mild cases so treated, a dose or two
of cream of tartar and rhubarb should be given to ensure
the cure. Severe cases may require a repetition of doses."
Mr. Rose also recommends the use of cream of tartar as
a preventive, and in conjunction with his remedy, wisely
insists upon a stringent dietetic law.

Chap. VIIL] 229

The success of his treatment is no doubt owing to its
specific remedial action upon the skin^ kidneys^ and
towels ; and when these three organs act harmoniously in
small-poXj or any other zymotic diseases^ premature death
is almost impossible.

Mr. Rose laboured hard for a number of years in Mr. Rose's
testing his remedy in upwards of 3000 cases, and proved n^^og-
its efficacy at every stage of the disease ; he appealed '"^ed.
to Government^ io Parliament, and hospital authorities^
his success was undoubted, yet the treatment has not been
publicly recognized either by Government or the medical
profession. His motives were purely philanthropical, he
contributed his mite^ in endeavouring to lessen the
sufferings of his fellow-beings without any reward beyond
the saving of human life.

If small-pox has signally resisted both the new and old
schools of drug medication, why have they not turned
their attention to such a simple remedy as Mr. Rose's ?
The only inference to be drawn is, that prejudice prevents
iheir recognizing it according to its merits, and if pre-
judice influences a section of the community who are
supposed to possess the confidence of the British people
when the lives of thousands are at stake, argument is lost,
the advancement of the medical art in the treatment of
such a disease prevented, and, as a consequence, the
death-rate must continue augmenting.

This brings us to the consideration of the treatment of
small-pox, without drugs, by a system called hydro-thera-
peutics, commonly comprehended under the narao of
hydropathy. It is difficult to understand why this system
has not been recognized by the ordinary medical faculty
in our hospitals, considering it has been before the public
at least forty years, and has been gradually increasing in
reputation as a remedial agent.

230 rCHAP, VIIL

Small-jpox There has been numerous able works written on the
hydropa- philosophy of hydropathy, and its applicability to the
tbically. treatment of chronic and acute diseases, and especially
cases of fever. As far back as the year 1797, James
Currie, M.D., F.R.S., published an elaborate treatise on
the treatment of epidemic fevers by the wet sheet and
tepid and cold effusions. In speaking of a contagious
fever which occurred In Liverpool in 1787, he says: —
*^ At the Liverpool Infirmary I gave the usual remedies,
including wine, bark, and opium, without success. I was
induced to try the cool effusions in every case of conta-
gious low fever where the strength was not much
exhausted, and kept a registry of 153 cases, to which I
attribute recovery entirely to these water applications.'
He further observes in a great number of cases the disease
is suddenly cut short by the use of cold effusions on the
first or second day, and the good, results that ensued were
uniform in every case. Dr. Currie, in the same treatise,
mentions a Dr. Wright, who had adopted a similar treat-
ment in 1777 with equal success.
Sir Astley Sir Astlcy Cooper testifies as follows: — "Though
cold-water cold water is not a positive agent yet it is capable •
of affording great relief in inflammation by lessening
the size of the vessels, and by lessening action, which
it affords by diminishing nervous irritability. If cold
water be applied generally to the system, it has the
power of lessening the pulse to an extraordinary degree,
arresting hemorrhage, allaying fever, lowering the
rapidity and violence of the heart and arteries, and
abating inflammation.
Liebig on Liebig says, " That a greater change of matter can
' be effected by it in six weeks, than would happen in the
ordinary course of nature in three years."

My own observation and experience convinces me

Chap. VIIL] 231

that no other remedy ever devised is so effective in
small-pox*

I have already gone beyond the limits I intended toEMcAcy
devote to this subject, or it would not be difficult to sheet Vck
adduce innumerable testimonies of both medical, and lay and medi-
authorities, on the efficacy of external applications in all baths,
forms of fever, especially eruptive fever. The wet sheet
pack in the feverish stage of small-pox, acts like magic
in arresting the virulence of the disease, and considerably
shortens its duration. When the pustules are fully
developeid on the body, and the fever reduced, the wet
sheet pack is discontinued, and Condy's or Liquid Sulphur
Baths are used, which soothe the sores, and disinfect the
exudations from them, making the effluvia innocuous;
a good fire should be kept in the room, with plenty of
ventilation. When the patient is strong enough, he
should be entirely immersed in a medicated bath once a
day, and the body frequently sponged over during the
twenty-four hours, if immersion is impracticable, frequent
sponging will be sufficient to prevent contagion. In per-
forming these ablutions care must be taken the patient
is not exposed to a draught or in any way risk taking a
chill. In suggesting this treatment, it is advisable that it
should be administered under efficient supervision, and
regulated according to the requirements of each case. I
have heard of and seen numbers treated in this way, and
what is more remarkable I have scarcely ever heard of the
disease spreading beyond the room the patient occupied.
I could give numerous instances extending over a period
of twenty years of the efficacy in the treatment of
small-pox, erysipelas, scarlatina, &c., by the wet sheet
pack, and other appliances included in the Hydropathic
Materia Medica. A number of cases liave come under
my notice during the present epidemic. I will mention

232 [Chap. VIII

one which occurred in a poor German family, only
recently arrived in this country. The family consisted of
man and wife^ three children and an aunt ; the children
8mall-rox and aunt fell ill with small^pox, and being disciples of
hy!^pa^ Priessnif z had great horror of the ordinary medical treat-
thio treat- ment. The wife, aged about thirty, treated the whole
of the cases hydropathically (without any medical assist-
ance). They heard I was a great believer in the wet
sheet, and sent for me as a friend ; on my arrival, I was
introduced to the patients, who were each in a wet pack
and apparently progressing favourably. This poor
German woman who could scarcely speak a word of
English, supported by her husband, brought all the
patients through the disorder in a comparative short,
time. The infant three months old, prematurely born,
has, however, since died from exhaustion from the
weakening effects of the malady.

One of my own men had the small-pox about two years
ago, and I had him treated in the same way most
successfully, and to prove the efficacy of the remedy in
preventing contagion his wife and children used the
same room as the patient the whole of the time, and not
one of them took the disease.

Let any philanthropist go the round of the London
hospitals, and extend his inquiries into the provinces, in
what hospital or " house of recovery " will he find a single
bath in use, either medicated or simple, cold, tepid,
shower, or Turkish ?

Leaving the wet sheet or other effusions out of the
question, the virtues of sulphur and Oondy's fluid are as
" old as the hills." How is it the liquid sulphur bath
is not resorted to ? It is known as a curative and dis-
infectant in various skin diseases. And why is it our
small-pox hospitals are destitute of this salutary agency ?

Chap. VIIL] 233

Condy's Fluid baths are well known as a disinfectant
agency in small-pox, and their curative powers is not
doubted, but they are not to be found in our fever
hospitals. Yet it is much more important to disinfect
the patient than to disinfect the apartment after he
recovers. To destroy the effluvia of the disease as it
arises from the patient is to prevent the contamination
of the apartment and its appertenances, and by the
remedies indicated this may be effected.

In Germany and many parts of England the wet sheet
pack is commonly used for reducing fevers, and Condy's
Fluid and Liquid Sulphur baths are resorted to for dis-
infecting the body with marked success.

I may observe in conclusion that frequently the Removal
patient is removed from his home to the certain po^ ^^
destruction of his life— the time and circumstances P**^®^*^
under which he is removed, the method of remov- sary.
ing him, and the delay attendant upon his proper
reception at the hospital, prove fatal many a time.
Patients have been known to die soon after reaching
the hospital, and not a few have been attested to as
dying en route. In fact, to many of the afflicted a removal
at all is certain death.

When it is proved beyond doiibt by medical evidence
that the removal of patients actually endangers life the
enforcement of the law amounts to manslaughter. Why
are not persons, who, although in humble life, neverthe-
less have a home, treated in their own apartments?
The fluid sulphur bath, Condy's fluid bath, and the wet
pack could be effectually administered, and sufficient
nurses ought to be supplied to attend these people at
the expense of the country if necessary — when a com-
pulsory law is made it should provide for these exigencies.
The object of the removal of a patient is to prevent the

234 [Chap. VIIL

Object of disease spreading, but if what I have advanced with
patients, regard to the wet sheet pack and disinfectants are
preventive measures, the question of isolation would be
settled, the disease confined to the apartment without
affecting other parts of the house^ and consequently
other inhabitants.

I have described I'esults that have come under my
own immediate notice, where no pretention to scientific
administration has been attempted. When results like
those of the poor German woman can be produced under
bungling management, what might be done under
scientific manipulation ?

Surely, then, if there is any truth in what I have
advanced, and I not only defy contradiction but should
he too glad to have an opportunity to practically illus-
trate the treatment of small-pox under the supervision
of the medical board in any hospital. On the score of
humanity alone every available remedy calls for an
unprejudiced trial. I would to God I had the power
to reconcile all the " pathies." I feel persuaded the
interests of the invalided public would be much better
served, and not a few premature deaths prevented.

If the medical directors of our hospitals were only a
little more liberal and less jealous of their paltry dignity ;
if they culled from every measure that crops up from time
to time, remedies beyond all dispute, it would not only
add to the stability of the profession as a body, but
redound to their honour, and would be an invaluable
blessing to the people at large.

Chap. IX.] 235

CHAPTER IX.

Dipsomania.

** Lord Coleridge, when charging the grand jury at Durham yesterday-
said that almost without an exception crimes of violence originated in
public-houses, and his judicial experience taught him that if England was
sober we might shut up nine-tenths of our gaols." — Globef February 23rd,

1877.

IHAYE introduced this chapter in the hope of rendering
some assistance ^to those whose duties it will be to
enact coercive measures for the treatment of habitual
drunkards.

In my public capacity, as well as in my private circle,
I have seen a good deal of the effects of the vice of
drunkenness; this has caused me considerable anxiety,
and enables me to speak with some degree of authority
on the vice of drunkenness.

It is a subject which demands the most serious con-
sideration, and it is^ gratifying to find, that legislators are
anxious to deal with the question so as to limit or break
the " Devil's chain."

The Timesy in one of its most efficient articles lately Times on
observed — ^'It is terrible to think of the amount otf^iJ^^'
strictly preventible diseases on all sides of us. The cure is diseases.

236

[Chap. IX.

partly with the doctors; but the public, however poorly
qualified, has also its not less essential part to perform,
and while this is neglected, it is in vain to hope that the
other will be done." These words are wise, and challenge
the attention of all intelligent men.
Progreesof It cannot be denied that within the last twenty years
Boience. great efforts have been made to bring into force preventive
sanitary measures. Although social and sanitary science
are comparatively new studies, they are now somewhat
fashionable, and their necessity is recognized ; scientific men,
by the media of books, magazines, newspapers, the lecture
hall, and the platform, are continually pressing them upon
our consideration ; and the pulpit is not unfrequently
employed to inculcate their doctrines. Better houses for
artizans, cleaner lodgings for casuals, more, thorough
drainage, and baths and washhouses for the working classes
have been established, all with some effect.

There is, however, one disease, springing from vicious
inclinations, which social and sanitary science has left un-
touched, namely, habitual drunkenness. A committee of
the House of Commons reported,* " In large towns and
populous districts, the great evil of drunkenness is on the
increase, while neither the educational or moral improve-
ment of the people, nor the amelioration in the character
of their dwellings, has borne any proportion to their
apparent advantages." In the same report published more
than four years ago, and things have not become better
since, the committee aver, upon the evidence of numerous
witnesses of unquestionable opportunities of observation,
competency, and credibility, ^' That drunkenness is the
prolific parent of crime, disease, and poverty — T9 per cent,
of the criminals passing through our gaols, attributed

Habitual
Drunken-
ness.

^Beport of the Select Committee on Habitual Drunkards, June 13th, 1872.<

Chap. IX.] 237

their fall to drink ; 20 per cent, of the insanity recorded
in Great Britain, and 14 per cent, in America are placed
to the same causes, and' nearly one-half of the idiots are
said to be the offspring of intemperate parents." The
more favourable position which the United States is made
to hold in the comparison, can scarcely be maintained out
of New England and Pennsylvania.

Probably there is no city in the United Kingdom where ofthe caJl
' public spirit and private benevolence prevail more than of Edin-
in the City of Edinburgh, yet the condition of that city, ^^ *
in respect to the morbid vice here complained of, is alarming
and terrible. A committee of the Edinburgh Presbytery
of the Church of Scotland reported to that Presbytery a
few months ago, that out of a population of rather less
than 200,000, it was found that within a year 2132 persons
were taken up drunk and incapable ; 4762 charged with
crime were drunk when arrested. Of the total, 4076 were
men and the rest women. Eighty-six women were taken
into custody drunk, with infants in their arms ; 129 men
were drunk and incapable while in charge of public con-
veyances ; and 146 were punished for wife beating when
infuriated by drink. The painful statement was made to
the Presbytery that during the past five years drunkenness,
on the part of women, had increased 36 per cent., and
among men 33 per cent. It can hardly be doubted by any
close observer, that in London, inebriation among women
is vastly increasing; in many districts on Saturday nights,
and on Sundays, and holidays, as many drunken women
as men may be seen, while the public-houses are crowded
with them, and they may be found clustering about gin
temples in numbers apparently greater than men.

Among men in charge of vehicles in Edinburgh, the
increase of cages of drunkenness was in five vears 46 per
cent. The Presbytery attribute the prevalence of the vice

238

[Chap. IX

Habitual
Drunk-
ards.

more especiallj' to young men ; but generally in England
all ages in the lower and lower middle classes are equally
addicted to it. Probably there is no other country in the
world where intemperance is so rampant as in Great
' Britain and Ireland.
Parlia- Ji ^iU not be necessary to enter into voluminous

mouiiarv

Eeport on statistics to prove this allegation. The Parliamentary
report of the Committee on Habitual Drunkards, in one
brief sentence, tells the sad truth : " It is confined to no
class, condition, or sex, and hardly of age."

The evidences we perceive of its dominancy as we pass
along the streets, or read the police reports, is only a part
of the prodigious influence it exercises ; for although,
among the upper classes, it has become unfashionable, and
the habit is discouraged, the Parliamentary Committee
truly reports " that there is a very large amount of
drunkenness among all classes and both sexes, which never
becomes public, or calls for the intervention of the
authorities, but which is probably even a more fertile
source of misery, poverty, and degradation, than that
which comes before the police courts. For this no legal
remedy exists and without further legislation must go on
unchecked."

But it is not merely personal and domestic poverty and
disturbance that ensue. Strong drink is a direct incentive
to crime ; different persons are affected in different ways,
according to their intellectual and physical constitution,
and, indeed, according to their moral habits in other
respects, and their susceptibility of good influences on the
part of those they love and respect. In some the tendency
is to uncleanness, others yield to absolute sloth, many are
impelled io wild and ludicrous merriment, depriving them
of the respect of their acquaintances, unless as dissipated
as themselves, and of self-respect, as well as the esteem of

Effects of

strong

drink.

Chap. IX.] 239

their friends after the debauch is over. The chief influence,
however, is to violence and crime. Criminality, the result
of intoxication, would form a long and terrible record of
itself alone. Assaults in the streets, wife beating at home,
cruelty to helpless children^ manslaughter, and robbery,
either by fraud^ stealth, or violence, in order to secure the
means of procuring their beverages, are well-known
results.

On March 6th, 1877, Justice Manisty, in sentencing Justice
John M'Kenna, remarked, *^ You have been found gnilty y^jj^arSon
of the crime of wilful murder, your victim being your sentencing
own wife. I am not going to dwell upon this painful case. M'Kenna.
You are a sad, sad instance of the consequences of in-
dulging in drink, which has brought you into the fearful
position in which you are now placed ; it is only owing to
God's mercy that this has not^brought many more into a
similar case. I am afraid that if this vice continues to be
indulged in, as it nOw so generally is indulged in through-
out this country, many more will stand in like position to
3^ou. Oh that we could^ by administering the law, put an
end to it ! It is now my duty to pass sentence. Do not
fancy that it is my sentence — it is the law. I am merely
the officer of the law to pronounce it." Sentence of death
was then passed in the usual form. The prisoner was
removed from the dock, apparently deeply affected.

On the same day the Recorder of Dublin was a witness Becorder
before the Select Committee on the Irish Sunday Closing evidence"^
Bill. He expressed his belief that intemperance was a ^®^°^® ^^^
national vice in Ireland, and especially so in Dublin. In Committee
that city the amount of crime yearly was 50 per cent, more
than in any other part of Ireland, and the vast proportion
of it was owing, directly or indirectly, to intoxication and
intemperance. He once held the view that the less Parlia-
ment interfered with the customs and habits of the people

240

[Chap. IX.

Justice
Manifltjon
drunken-
ness.

Judges
and
Magis-
tratos on
drunken-
ness as the
cause of
crime.

Ber.
Dawson
Bums on
drinking.

the better, but the evil had now reached such a magnitade
that it demanded the interference of the Legislature.

Mr. Justice Manisty, in addressing the grand jury at
the Manchester Assizes, February 27th, 1877, expressed
his regret that drunkenness was connected with nearly
every case in the calendar.

The late Sir Thomas Henry, chief magistrate at Bow
Street Police-office, declared that nearly all the cases of
crime from violence which came before him could be traced
proximately or remotely to inebriation. The Lord Chief
Justice of the Queen's Bench^ and the Lord Chief Justice
of the Common Pleas, have pronounced similar opinions
from the bench. The governors of gaols almost
unanimously state that nearly all the criminals are habitual
drunkards. Chaplains of prisons, pastors of all denomina-
tions accustomed to visit their flocks, the agents of town
missions, and^ above all, medical men^ whether attending
gaols, police-offices, workhouses, or in private practice,
attest the fact that intoxication is the most potent and the
almost invariable cause of crime. The general efiects upon
the community at large, upon the commonwealth in its
material interests, its moral character and renown, have
grown to appalling magnitude. The late Rev. Dr. Jabez
Burns elaborately proved that the national wealth and even
grandeur of the country have been greatly obstructed by
the general addiction to the use of strong drinks.

The Rev. Dawson Burns, A.M. says, " It impedes the
accumulation of capital, and the remunerative employment
of labour, and stimulates every kind of evil without inter-
mission, and on a scale of national magnitude."

The form of mischief produced by the inordinate use of
alcohol here to be discussed is, however, mainly its pro-
duction of disease.

Indeed, there are few diseases which it does not either

Chap. IX.] 241

«ause, promote, or intensify. Dr. Both, of Boston. United I^r- Both

tn r-t Tki««/» ./I.. lOn diseases

States, a Grerman Jrhysician of repute, is of opinion that produced
eruptive diseases, are remotely if not also immediately ^^ ^l^o^ol.
produced by alcohol. After a wound the resort to it
will cause erysipelas ; small-pox he maintains is caused
and aggravated by it ; according to his theory it expels
the natural salts from the blood, causing the exudation of
albumen and by consequence small-pox, and typhus fever,
which he considers identical, the name being referable
to the locality affected.

Another medical man, a citizen of Frankfort-on-the
Main, says that, wounds do not heal as quickly in England
as on the Continent, and attributes the fact to the use of
alcohol.

Sir Astley Cooper declared that the presence of alcohol ^^ Astley
in the system, rendered surgical treatment frequently alcohol,
unsuccessful, when all circumstances besides were in favour
of the patient.

W. Marcet, M.D., F.B.S., F.E.C.P., proves beyond ^W.
question that the use of alcoholic drugs causes gout, pro- alcohol,
motes rheumatism, predisposes to disease of the chest, and
softens the brain.

Families are steeped in poverty through the excesses of JSffects of
either parent, or it may be both parents resort to strong drink.^^ ^^
drink. Order and cleanliness foisake the habitation of
the drunkard. Idleness ensues for days after a debauch ;
to. use a common phrase among working men and women,
^^ I am good for nothing since such a night, when I had a
drop too much."

The pawnbroker is then the resort, increasing the
poverty and depriving the household of the comforts
which make home happy, rendering it difficult or
impossible to send the children to school, or for the parents
to make a respectable appearance, and often causing the

R

242 [Chap. IX.

loss of employment, consigning whole families to tlie
workhouse — for none will employ a known and habitual
drunkard. It is computed by the Rev. Dawson Burns that
a fifth of the aggregate wages of 6,000,000 of the
working classes is spent in liquor.
Drinking rpj^^ cataloofue of diseases is lon(r and terrible which

conduces ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

to fevers drinking produces. It directly conduces to fevers and

shortens inflammations ; destroys the functions of the liver, spleen^

life. and kidneys, poisons the blood, and by its quickened

circulation deranges the action of the heart, lungs and

brain, the most vital of all organs.

The effect in shortening the general duration of life in a
given population, and in different sections of a population,
is testified by Dr. Macnish. He says that " one half
of the children born in the metropolis die before reaching
their third year, while among the Society of Friends
one half attain to the age of forty-seven. It appears
also from accurate calculations that in London only one
person in forty reaches the age of eighty, while, among
the Society of Friends, not less than one in ten reaches
that age : arising from their proverbial sobriety."
Drinking It cannot be disputed by all right-minded people that
S*Eng-^' excessive drinking is the national curse of England, and
land. it behoves the thinking part of the English subjects to
consider how the evil is to be abated. I have heard it
argued over and over again that excesses in anything is
bad ; no doubt this is true, and is to be deplored, but so
long as the excesses indulged in will not inebriate and
incapacitate the individual from taking care of himself
there is no necessity for legislative enactment. What,
however, causes the vice of inebriation but drink ?
It is absurd to classify other excesses with drunkenness.
An inebriate is not amenable to reason, hence society
demands that he should be restrained by physical force,

Chap. IX.] 243

and is thus demeaned by his own acts. I cannot conceive
it possible for a drunkard to be either a good husband,
father, Christian or a good citizen.

Fourteen thousand clergymen of the Established Church Memorial
have memorialized the Bishops, urging the closing of Fourteen
public houses and special legislation, on the ground that Thousand
the drinking population are literally inaccessible to
ministerial influences. The memorial with the signatures
occupies 500 pages, and goes minutely into proof of
the absolute obstruction which the drinking habits of
the people presents to pastoral labour.

The Rev. Dawson Burns asks the question, *^ What effect Eev.
has strong drink upon the purity of individual Christians Burns,
and Christian congregations ? " and he answers the question ®'^^S
in this wise, *'It is the prompter and promoter of every retards
form of impurity;" and quotes the testimony of^™"
patristic divines, modern pastors, and Christian mission-
aries to prove the almost insurmountable barrier it places
in the way of ministerial success, the ingathering of
people to the churches, and the conversion of the heathen.
"It directly and largely limits the number of persons
whom the agencies of the Church are designed to
effect."

The Convocations of the English Church use remarkably Convoca|^
strong language, supporting Mr. Bums' view of the case : English
*^Two thirds of the non-attendants on the ordinances of ^^"^^

on Intern-

religion are indisposed from the direct and indirect in- perance.
fluence of intemperance ; irregularity at first, increasing
and ending in a total absence of all religion and obli-
gation." A number of individual clergymen gave evidence
to the Committee of Convocation, that just in proportion as
intemperance was suppressed in their parishes, attendance
upon divine w^^rship and domestic religious exercises
increased,

B 2

244 [Chap. IX.

Probably not less than sixty missionaries, members of all
churches and creeds, have stated in the missionary reports
of their respective societies that the introduction of strong
drinks among the heathen presented a greater hindrance to
their work than superstition and ignorance united.
P^ofewor Professor Miller in his work on " Alcohol : its Place and
alcohol. Power," observes : —

^^ No man is safe. I have seen those at whose feet I
had been life-long content to sit> to learn both wisdom
and piety, drawn gently on, tempted, bound, enslaved ;
men not long before eminent for worth and goodness, now
secret tipplers, or drunkards but ill disguised; once
honoured to bear the message of ^ good news ' to many,
and now themselves poor * castiaways.'

*' This ^ luxury ' — this * something separate ' from food
— this ' dainty ' — this thing * delightful to the senses ' —
is not safe for me — wliatsoever and whosoever I am. 1 may
remain its master ; but it may become mine ; and if it do,
I am lost — or at least in utmost peril. Why should the
oak court the embrace of the ivy, if it know or even fear
that the sycophant, as it creeps and clings around, will in
4^be end suck all its sap, and leave it to die a faded withered
thing, fit only as a faggot for the burning ?

" And why should men, themselves safe— for the time
— lead others on by the most powerful of all teaching —
'namely, example — to dalliance with this drug, when they
-see thousands so led perishing miserably, and for ever ?

" Let honest men but think — opening their intellects as
well as their hearts ; and surely they will be forced to
abstain from what is certainly something more — far more
— ^than a mere ^ appearance of evil.' There is a time for
its use. Let its use be limited to that time. All else is
abuse ; for which there is no time and no tolerance. It
is then a positive evil, and of the highest and most heinous
kind.

Chap. IX.] 245

^^ Let men learn its power^ and act wisely on that
learning. Let them know and remember that it has vast
power as a poison — to be dreaded by all who would live
and let live ; great power, too^ as a medicine — in small
quantities, and* skilfully employed ; much power as a
luxury, but of a most perilous kind ; no power as food,
save only in occasional emergencies ; no power to sustain
or refresh even a man, under either bodily or mental
labour — and let them abolish the term ^' reireshments"
in its ordinary alcoholic sense^ as a most foul and fal*
lacious misnomer; no power to afford continued and
systematic protection against extremes of either cold or
heat ; no power to avert disease, but power almost infinite
to produce it ; no power to cherish old age, but only to
cripple and confound it ; no power to prolong life, but
power to both hasten and embitter its ending : no power
to strengthen the morals or the mind, but power to
debase, if not destroy the one, and weaken and pervert
the other; a power to produce crime, and minister to
vice, beyond what pen can write or tongue can tell—
* sensual, devilish.' "

There is a prevailing opinion among a large class of J'^?^®'***
persons who do not indulge to any great extent, that
alcohol is strengthening taken as a beverage, believing
in its ability to cheer the spirits, and fancy they cannot
do without it. These individuals may be termed moderate
drinkers.

Impartially considered, I think enough has been ad- Alcohol
duced, both practically and theoretically, to prove that
alcohol is not streugthening but enervating in its
action ; it also arrests digestion and nutrition, and is most
pernicious to the masses. What is injurious, taken as
a daily beverage must also be so to a greater or less
extent when taken in moderation, even if it was not

246 [Char IX.

injiirioas, when taken in moderation, sarely the bane-
ful influence of the drii^ upon the masses is such as to
suggest the question — ^is the amount of probable good
sufficient to justify the imbibation of a fluid that sends
so many to hell annually? These are considerations
which should have an influence over all men's actions
relating to their own creature comforts.
jLrguments Perhaps the most persistent and formidable argument
aS^Io^ ^^ by apologists for the use of alcohoUc beverages, who
for the use at the same time are opposed to intenq>erance is, that it is
alcoholic illogical to argue from the abuse against the use. How far
^erages. ^ j^^^ ^f gQ^^ forms of drink containing alcohol may be
useful, or at all events permissible, I will not obtrude
my opinion ; let the opinions of our leading physicuans,
moralists, and sanitary philosophers have their due weight,
but nothing, alas, can be more patent to observation,
amongst all classes of observers, than that moderate drink-
ing leads to occasional inebriety; that again to confirmed
habits of drunkenness and all the sequences of diseases, to
dipsomania, and finally to the jail, tiie convict * hulk, the
madhouse, or the grave, perhaps the scaffold.
Ffolefsor Professor Miller remarks on alcohol as food :-^
alcohol*^ " ^ Thus,' they say, * alcohol may be usefiil to the poor
food. 2ixan in an economical sense, and to the dyspeptic man by
saving heavy meals.' But this is a mere assumption.
And no reasonable man can doubt that the ^cplanation
is quite different from their statement of it. Habitual
use of alcohol, even in ^moderation,' diminishes the
appetite, as we have seen^ by exciting a direct and un-
favourable action upon the stomach.

' I caimot eat but little meat ;
My stomach it not good.
But sure I think that I can drink
With him who wears a hood/

^^ The man, in virtue of this morbid condition^ comes

.«»

Chae.'IX.J 247

to have a less cpav.ing for and a less power of digesting
food.

' I love no ro8t> but a nut-broun toste

And a crab laid on the fire ;
A little bread shall do my stead-
Much bread I nought desire.'

^^ Tlierefore he takes less. And the portion of food
which he does not take, and oth^nrise would have taken^
is simply lost to his system by the alcohol. This, more-
over, has kept waste old material circulating in the blood ;
and that is offered to the system &r nourishment in a
fatty and fusted form. There will be no vigorous appetite
for fresh food, till that waste material is used up and got
rid of somehow — while meantime every successive dose
of alcohol prevents the disappearaoice of this obstructive
waste, by appropriating the oxygen inatead. And the
question comes to be — ^Whether shall we take alcohol, eat
less, and be imperfectly nourished ; or take no alcohol,
eat more, and be nourished well? Whether shall we
thrive beister on a small quantity of new nutritive material,
with a great deal of what is old and mouldy ; or a constant
and fresh supply of new material, in sufficient abundance
to dispense with the old-— wbieb, being then in all respects
useless, is extruded from the system ? Even one less
qualified than a ^ licensed victualler ' should bave no
difficulty in giving the right answer — ^ The fresh article^
if you please ; and plenty of it.' "

No doubt many of the apologists referred to are sincere. Dr. B. W,
and are themselves examples of the occasional or frugal ^n^^^*
use of strong drinks, without) inebriety ; but in many moderate
other cases we fear the language of Eh". Benjamin W. "^ "^*
Bichardson is too applicable, ^' Because in their hearts they
are in&tuated with the liking for alcohol, and are glad to
find any excuse that will mJanister to tlieir own inclinations."
The same eminent physician in an address delivered in the

248 [Chap. IX.

Sheldoniau Theatro at Oxford said, ^^ The mere moderate
man is never safe, neither in the counsel he gives to others
nor the practice he follows himself." And the learned doctor
winds up his argument by the startling paragraph: " The
attraction of alcohol for itself is cumulative. So long as
it is present in a human body, even in small quantities, the
longing for it, the sense of requirement is present, and as
the amount of it insidiously increases so does the desire."
The doctor is not sure whether he should call this a physio-
logical or a psychological fact ; perhaps it is both^ but
whichever way we regard its rationale the circumstance
itself shows that the moderate drinker is not secure, and*
at leasts may be on the road to dipsomania itself* Indeed,
Dr. Bichardson's argument closely analysed would almost
carry the conviction, that even the love of alcohol on the
part of mere moderate drinkers is of the nature of incipient
dipsomania*
Sir H. Sir Henry Thompson takes nearly the same view* He

•'^^o^pso^ remarks that ^^ the habitual use of fermented liquors to an
use of extent far short of what is necessary to produce drunken-
hTom^^ ness, injures the body, and diminishes the mental powers

to an extent of which few people are aware."
Mr. E. Mr. Edward Baines, late M.P. for Leeds, an experienced

Baines on ganitarv reformer and cogent reasoner, says : " Of all the

moderate ... . 'J

drinking, victims of intemperance there is not one who did not begin
by moderate drinking, or who had the remotest idea when
he began that he should be led into excess."

The same practical observer also states, " I say boldly
that no man living who uses intoxicating drinks is free
from the danger of at least occasional excess, and if
occasional ultimately of habitual excess."

Dr. Dr. T. W. Christie divides habitual drunkards into those

^habitual' ^^^ ^®^® never completely drunk but always drinking, and

drunkardg. those who were never completely sober.

Chap. IX.] 249

Dr. Lamb in his report on regimen states, " The sus- Dr. Lamb
picion appears just, that the perpetual ingurgitation of ^Q^jgrate
those drinks cannot be innocent, however moderate the drinking.
quantity may be."

It is alleged by the supporters of moderate drinking
that it is not injurious to the constitution, and with some
gusto they instance the vigour of two brothers named Elm,
both upwards of eighty, that came before one of our judges,
Tlrho remarked on the clearness with which they gave their
evidence. One had been a teetotaler all his life, was compli-
mented for his abstinence and congratulated on his good *
health, while the other, on being asked if he was a teetotaler
also, replied, ** I scarcely ever go to bed sober." The judge,
surprised, exclaimed, " Elm wet or Elm dry both seem
to thrive." This may be true ; at the same time it is no
argument in favour of strong drink ; the probability is, that
the man addicted to drink was blessed with a remarkably
good constitution, and had he led a sober life like his brother
might have lived ten or twelve years longer. What-
ever may be said in favour of drinking, or instances
adduced of the longevity of persons addicted to drink, we
cannot refute the fact that the average life of abstainers
is longer than that of drinkers at the present day, which
may be entirely attributed to the absence of intoxicating
drinks ; and if these could be annihilated, the probabilities
are that future generations would attain a longevity similar
to that of the patriarchs of old. Isolated cases can scarcely
be taken as a proof of the validity of a general principle
either pro or can.

Professor Miller protests against the common practice Professor
of having recourse to alcoholic stimulants in order to alcoholic
sustain the system under the pressure of overwork. Like stimulants

•^ . , ^ , and over-

every other real physiologist (we use this term to exclude work.
certain pretenders who have a theory to support, that

250 [Chap. IX.

" Alcohol is force," and who trumpet it forth as if it were de-
monstrated by facts, instead of being in direct antagonism
to them), he sees Uiat under such circumstances ^^ Alcohol
gives no addition to the amount of vital strength, but
merely urges the more rapid and thorough using-up of
what you already have ; " and that whenever oireumstances
necessitate its temporary employment for such a purpose, a
permanent injury is done, unless adequate restcrnktion is
obtained by repose. '^ When such shift or substitution is
not occasional but constant, and when, moreover, there be
no sufficient correspondence in the amount of compensating
rest, the working organism must soon come to be alto^
gether in a most artificial and unsafe condition. It will
resemble an overtasked mercantile house, supported on
bills and other means of ^ accommodation ' ; the work is
d<»ie at a great cost ; and at any time, by 'failure of the
artificial support on the one hand (even for a day), or by a
sudden increase of outward pressure on the other, the
whole concern may fall to pieces, either stopping altogether,
or dragging out a crushed existence in insolv^eDoy." How
much additional force this pithy iUuatration dmvea from
the mercantile crash which took place wJule the Mrriter's
ink was scarcely dry, we surely need not point out. Yet
the merchant who trades up to ten, twenty, er fifly times
his capital upon the bill system, paying discounts which
far more than absorb his profita, and thus progressively
involving himself in hopeless insolvency, is not acting more
inconsistently with the obvious rule of prudence and
rectitude, than is the man who sets himself to a daily
taak, whether the work be of the head or the hand,
beyond what his natural powers can accoropliAh, and
has recourse to stimulants with the delusive idea that they
will support him under it— ^whereas every draught is like
a bill at a long date, with heavy accumulating interest.

Chap. IX.] 251

which weakens his fature resources in a far greater Moderate
degree thw.it acids to his present means, ^^SSl^y

I admit that a good deal of the moderate drinking may unhealthy
be owing to the innovations produced by unhealthy occupa- ^®^"P*
tions^ and an aleoholic stimulant, in the absence of any
other, is resorted to to spur men on in their duties.
Excesftiye and oppressive hours of labour is one of the social
evils that will require to be dealt with ; in fact Government
has already done something towards abating the evils
by the Factory Act, which gives local authorities power to
inspect workshops, and see that they are large enough, and
kept in a healthy state^ and it may become necessary to
restrict the hours of labour of adults as well as of children.
Able-bodied persons should be able to accomplish their
daily work without stimulation^ thus obeying the laws of
nature ; but when stimulants are used, nature is excited
beyond her powers, which cannot be done with impunity.

Th^e cannot be a doubt that an able-bodied man should
be able to.accomplish his legitimate labour without alcoholic
stimulants, and retain his health much better. There is
Bcar<»ly any limit to the proofs which caa be adduced to
support this, but it will be sufficient to give the following
quotation which appeared in the Graphic, December,
1876, yrhick places the matter beyond all doubt : —

" If alcohol is, as is claimed by beer and spirit drinkers, a potent sus- Alcoholic
tainer of vitality, its beneficent effects would ncTer be more clearly manifested drinks in
than when men are undergoing unusual fatigue in a temperature many n^^^ ^^
degrees below zero. The records of the recent Arctic Expedition do not ^^
bear out the theory of those who make the assertion. The teetotalers of
long standing, some of whom were good templars, that is, abstainers from
their childhood, on board* the Mert and Discovery, those subjected to the
same labours and hardships as their companions, in eyery instance escaped
scurry, and remained in excellent health. One case may be deemed an
exception, but it is an exception of a kind' that proves the rule. A good
templar named G-ore succumbed to a temptation while on the sledge
journeys, and took to grog. After this, his appetite failed, he ceased to

252

[Chap. IX.

Alcohol
will not
fortify
against
cold.

Dipso-
mania.

have rdfreshing sle3p, and he was ultimately attacked with scurry. The
CTidence of Ajles, a teetotaler of many years' standing, is very important.
His labours were among the seyerest of any member of the ships' com-
panies. He was not only out for 1 10 days sledging, but he was (^ut no less
than eighty-four days from the ships at a time. He neither drank nor
smoked ; his companions drank plenty of strong grog and smoked heavily.
In the result, Ayles and Lieutenant Aldrioh, who was next door to an
abstainer, as he diluted his rum more than any other member of the
expedition, were the only members of the sledge party who escaped scurvy.
In conclusion, it may be observed that the teetimony of the two ships'
companiesi doctors and officers included, is unanimous against the serving
out of stimulants during the day, as they emphatically state that no wori;
can be done upon grog ; but many of them believe that a glass at night acts
as a recuperative agent. This idea certainly appears to be refuted by the
experience of the good templars."

Dr. B. Richardson in his remarks on alcohol and its
effects in the temperature of the human body, observes that
those who are exposed to extremes of cold are best forti-
fied against cold when they abstain fi:om alcohol, and
depend upon warm unintoxicating drinks.

The diseases resulting from drink are very numerous,
but some of the most painful are dipsomania and delirium
tremens.

There are two kinds of dipsomania, one is supposed
to be hereditary. The appetite for ^* fire water " is trans-
mitted from drunken sire to son, or^ as the Chinese say
of small-pox, it is " mothers' milk." There is in this form,
original and constitutional defect; and it* is observable
that the career of excess, leading to the catastrophe, is
shorter, even if there be nothing more dreadful in the
phenomena.

The other form is that which is brought on by long and
habitual potations. The unfortunate man finds solace for
all his woes pro tempore^ and a remedy for all his ills in the
bottle ; he quite acts up to the spirit of the old baccha*
nalian song,

'^ If any care or pain remain,
Let's drown it in a bowl."

Chap. IX.] 253

If he be sick, he drinks to get well ; if in health, his Drinking
exhilaration finds vent in that way. If in prosperity, he "^ °™^*
treats all his friends, and enjoys what he calls a spree ; if
in adversity, he is not ashamed to beg to satisfy his
craving. His bargains are concluded over the bottle ; his
*^ morning," as he and his friends call it, is thence
supplied, and, with the tumbler in his hand, he closes the
day. So it proceeds until the cup of his madness, misery,
and crime is full, and the insanity of dipsomania fastens
upon his brain.

Alexander Peddie, M.D., has probably paid more atten- Dr. A.
tion to the *^ disease " (as he firmly and repeatedly calls it) dipso-^ ^^^
than any other member of the profession. His description mania.
of the course of the dipsomaniac is graphic, and excites
even more compassion than horror, and must move every
humane man to commiserate his misfortunes, and follow
him with his aid : —

" A process of mental deterioration goes on gradually
and simultaneously with the indulgence. The main
desire of his life is how to obtain liquor — moral control
has lost its sway over him, he has no power to resist the
propensity ; he has become the involuntary slave of the
vice, and would sacrifice his last sixpence, or his shirt, or
sell his soul to the devil for ^ one drop more.' Yet strange
to say the poor creature has no pleasure in drinking
socially or convivially, he gulps it down in large quantities,
away from society and observation, and even as if it were a
drug ; the only satisfaction it affords him is by benumbing
his sensibilities, and in this way affording him relief from
his fancied miseries."

To say the least, drink is a curse.

Moderate drinking is the stepping-stone to become a sot.

Habitual drinking is the stepping-stone to become a
dipsomaniac.

254

LChap. IX

Delirium
Tremens.

Object of
the

Govern-
ment
inquiry.

Dipsomania is the stepping-stone to the last stage
before the grave, namely, delirlnm tremens.

The above may be considered the educational process of
the deterioration of the material body to a stage of
physical alteration known as delirium tremens. If
we are to recognize a heaven and hell when we depart
from this life^ with the Bible as our guide, it is self
evident that a man suffering from delirium tremens is
on the brink of hell, and nothing less than a miracle
can save him from that fearful condition.

The explanation of dipsomania is thirst madness^ and the
disease consists in an unconquerable desire for intoxicating
drinks^ &c.

Delirium tremens only differs from dipsomania from'
its being more intense and directly affecting the brain.
It usually supervenes on a fit of intoxication ; but
it not unfrequently arises from circumstances exactly
opposite ; namely^ wliere an habitual drunkard omits his
accustomed stimulant. The approach of an attack of
delirium tremens is almost invariably announced by the
patient being remarkably irritable^ with fretfulness of the
mind and mobility of the body. Watchfulness next
occurs, and the patient gets little or no sleep. He has
frightful dreams, sees remarkable sights^ such as strange
animals, monkeys^ snakes, and appears to have a kind
of clairvoyant insight into purgatory, or hears extra-
ordinary sounds. He then begins to £incy that some
conspiracy is forming against him^ entertains suspicions
about certain persons or things^ and imagines that some
mischief is intended towards him. Then he is perpetually
busied about his affairs, and so on. This is the stage when
tlie patient mi^ht at any moment commit suicide or murder.

The Government inquiry was not instituted to deal with
the moderate drinker or even occasional drunkards, as those

CuAP. IX.] 255

could be dealt vr^ith by the police magistrates when they
became a nuisance to society in the streets, It was to obtain
evidence on the desirability of introducing an Act to bring
dipsomania and delirium tremens cases under coercion.
Hitherto they could only be treated as cases of drunken-
ness, as the law has no power to place them in asylums.

The committee of inquiry examined thirty-three wit-
nesses, all medical men of high standing, magistrates and
. constables, men of science, and commissioners of lunacy,
together with Dr. Parish and Dr. Dodge from the United
States, and the committee reported to the House as
follows : —

" That occasional drunkenness may, and very frequently
does become confirmed and habitual/ and soon passes into
the condition of a disease uncontrollable by the individual,
unless indeed some extraneous influence, preventive or
curative, is brought into play. That self control is suspended
or annihilated; moral obligations are disregarded; and
the decencies of private and of public life are alike set at
nought; and individuals obey only an overwhelming
craving for stimulant to which everything is sacrificed."

The committee attributed the occurrence of such disease
not simply to pure alcohol iteelf , but to adulteration by the
vendors.

The Gbvemment exercises extreme vigilance pver Govem-
Gvery branch of sanitary science, more especially in prose- ™egiect
cuting for the adulteration of articles of food, such as milk, in prose-
butter, &c^ but it is curious that no attention is paid to the aduitera-
examination of intoxicating drinks sold in licensed |3"S
houses wh^i it is well known and proved by analytical
chemists uid men who have given attention to tlie
subject, that a large proportion of injuries inflicted,
is the eSeat of adulteoration and not so much from
alcoholic inflaexkto* It is a well known fact that the beeor

256 [Chap. IX.

which the working classes drink is adulterated with all
kinds of rubbish to make them thirsty and induce them to
drink £o excess. Beer especially, is the English beverage,
and so long as the people will persist in drinking it, it is
but just that Government should insist upon their having
it genuine.
WiwloVfl^ Dr. Forbes Winslow, in giving evidence, said : —
evidence ^^ There is a morbid craving for stimulants which is

before the i i i "li j. i_ • ji*j.» •!. • /» i»

Select clearly traceable to a brain condition; it is a form of
Committee insanity although it is not recognized by law. A man
who has had ample opportunity of observing those cases
and studying them is able to diagnose pretty accurately
the difference between normal drunkenness and abnormal
drunkenness. The vice sometimes passes from a normal
into an abnormal state ; and the exaltation of the instincts
becomes a disease or maniaJ*^
Ped^e n Alexander Peddie, M.D., Fellow of the Eoyal College
the treat- of Physifcians, Edinburgh, was one of the most prominent
dipso-^ witnesses before the committee. He gave evidence that
mania. gu^h disease existed, and was replete with ruinous con-
sequences. He has since written a book with the
srgnifioant title **The Necessity for Some Legalized
Arrangements for the Treatment of Dipsomania^ or the
Drinking Insanity." This title recognized the existence
and character of the disease, and on excellent authority.
The following pertinent passage occurs in the work : —
" Now, among this class (the morally and mentally
diseased), I hesitate not to place the habitual drunkard or
dipsomaniac. I consider that his condition is one of com-
bined moral and mental insanity, and the consequence of a
vicious impulsive propensity — for I cannot, in such a case,
discriminate it simply as a vice; and I regard it as
rendering him incapable of social duties or civil rights ;
and not merely so, but as lessening his liability to punish-

Chap. IX.] .257

ment for crime, of the same kind or to the same extent as
the other members of the community. That the excessive
and uncontrollable desire for strong drink is a disease, and
that it is symptomatic of some abnormal cerebral conditions
which gives it the character of a form of insanity, cannot
be doubted." Again —

" There can be no absolute rale for insanity indicating
itself by any particular sign. Hence its physical indication
may be addictedness to drinking, as well as hallucination
of ideas. To declare whether it is or not, is as much a
question for medical science in the one case as the other.
But medical observation has declared that dipsomania is a
proof of mental aberration, and therefore it appqars to mo
that such cases stand on the same footing as other instances
of mental derangement.''

This is a very full, comprehensive, and decided opinion
coming from one of the most eminent among the many
distinguished members of the medical profession in
Scotland.

The question, then, forces itself upon every benevolent ?^°®? ^^
mind, what is to be done with our common drunkards, ment for
and with our dipsomaniacs ? The former may be rightly nes^a^Sin
punished, some say, in the way criminals are usually dipso-
treated, by imprisonment, but the present practice of ^j^gg^
carrying a riotous or brawling drunkard before a mao^is- Remedies

. . . . . suggested

trate and fining him five shillings is obviously nugatory, by 3ie
In the case of the genuine dipsomaniac it is useless and ^®^®^* ...
may be cruel.

The medical and scientific witnesses gave difierent
detailed opinions, but most of them agreed in the main
features of a scheme for the cure of the disease, and the
salvation of the patient. The Committee on this point
reported to the House as follows : —

<^That there is an entire concurrence of all the

s

258 [C«AP. IX.

witnesses in tlie absolute inadequacy of existing laws to
eheck drunkenness^ whether casual or constant ; rendering
it desirable that fresh legislation on the subject should
take place, and that the laws should be made more simple^
uniform^ and stringent.

" That small fines and short imprisonments are proved
to be useless^ as well by tlie testimony of competent
witnesses^ as by the fact that the same individual is con-
victed over and over again to even more than 100 times.

In fact, numerous instances amongst the lower orders in
Liverpool are recorded, where they are proud of being
brought before the magistrates simply because their names
appear in the newspapers, when they have the satisfaction
of forwarding a copy to their friends and relations.

" That the absence of all power to check the downward
course of a drunkard, and the urgent necessity of pro-
viding it has been dwelt on by nearly all witnesses ; and
the legal control of an habitual inebriate, either in a
reformatory or in a private dwelling, is recommended, in
the belief that many cases of death, resulting from
intoxication, including suicides and murder, may be pre-
vented."

The remedies suggested to the Legislation by the
Committee, so far as common street drunkards are con-
cerned, taken by the police before a magistrate for being
drunk and disorderly, are, a fine not exceeding 40s. ; a
register of the fine to be made in a. book kept especially
for the purpose ; and the infliction to be made progressive,
with costs. The reason given for this recommendation, a
sound one, was not only because something more must be
done than is now done, but from the fact that the present
penalty of 5s. was enacted in the reign of James I., when
that fine, from the decreased value of money, was far
heavier han it is now.

Chap. IX.] 259

The provision recommended for progressive deterring
punishment is, that on three convictions within twelve
months, the magistrates should be empowered to require
sureties for the transgressor's future good behaviour ; and
in case of not obtaining such sureties (and they very
seldom could be obtained in the lower links of life) upon a
fresh offence, imprisonment in a reformatory of an
industrial nature to be especially provided.

The committee also report :—
. ^^ That it is in evidence as well from those who have
conducted, and are still conducting reformatories in Great
Britain, as by those who are managers of similar institu-
tions in America, that sanatoria^ or inebriate reforma-
tories are producing considerable good in eflfecting
amendment, and cures, in those who have been treated in
them."

*' That the average number of cures is stated to be from B^sults of
30 to 40 per cent, of the admissions. This conclusion treatment
being based upon subsequent inquiries, from which iti^^*"®'"^*
appears that the cures are as complete and permanent as
in any other form of disease, mental or physical. The
average time taken in effecting these cures is from
twelve to sixteen weeks in America. For the English
institutions the period has been longer."

The whole drift of the report and arguments points Eecom-
to coercive legislation for the treatment of dipsomania ^*?be ^°^
cases in providing the asylum, kind supervision, suitable Commitiee
regimon, diversion of the mind, recreation for the body,
and skilful treatment, such as that to which hydropathy
IS related as alone likely to restore the individual to
home and liberty as a sane man. This could be best
accomplished by experienced individuals who possessed
establishments appropriate to the purpose, and who were
actuated as well by pbilanthropic feeling; to whom, in

s 2

260 [Chap. IX.

fact, it would bo a labour of love. In those cases the
dipsomaniac would be a voluntary patient, a refugee,
seeking a sanctuary from the ruthless pursuer of his
home^ fortune, reason, and life ; some idiosyncrasies are
more likely to be amenable to regulations, when entering a
temporary home and shelter, by their own consent, than
in a reformatory organized by the authorities.

It is worthy of remark that the system of sureties has
been adopted with good effect on the North American
Continent, and in Sheffield in this country. The common
law of England, however, does not sanction it, and a special
Act of the Legislature would be necessary. The committee
wisely recommended the repeal of the old statutes of
James I., and the enactment of a concise and intelligible
one, more suited to the present necessities.

That such measures would be to some extent effectual
might be relied on, because the sureties would look well
to their diseased friend ; and relatives and companions,
apprehensive of penalties that could be ill-borne, would pay
sedulous attention to his wanderings ; more particularly
as the recommendation is, that the magistrate might,
without further process, estreat the property of the sureties
upon forfeiture of bail. And the imprisonment, or con-
finement, rather, of the demented person might be for a
term of not less than three months, and not more than
twelve ; so as to deprive him for the period within this
range of all opportunity of resorting to his usual haunts,
and mingling with his former associates, and thus alter
his morbid cravings.
Drunkards The Committee recommended the keeping of a
Begister. u Drunkards' Register," which might be a very power-
ful deterrent, because an Englishman, like the Hindoo,
fears nothing so much as the loss of caste, and the
insertion of his name as a registered drunkard^ would

Chap. IX.] 261

be a shame which even his inebriate associates wonid
keenly feel. Instances amongst the lower orders in Liver-
pool are recorded, where they are proud of being brought
before the magistrates simply because their names appear
in the newspapers, when they have the satisfaction of for-
warding a copy to their friends and relations. It is true
that some topers are too far gone to be ashamed
of any ordinary occasion of disgrace, but this would
be a social stigma which few could endure without
compunction and humiliation. It would also check
the aberration of others, lest the like thing should
happen to them. Families and friends would be more
ashamed and afraid of the drunkards' register than even of
the habitual excesses of the drunkard.

Of course, if, when the drunkard is temporarily mad, or
actually a dipsomaniaCy and violent or aggressive in his
paroxysms, ^* it may be left to the discretion of the magis-
trate to send him at once to an inebriate reformatory."

It is not contemplated to restore the confirmed dipso-
maniac by these methods ; he is past the fear of obloquy or
punishments, he hugs his chains, and clanks them in the
hearing of everybody, he staggers about under their weight,
as if they were silken bands or wreaths of flowers ; so far
as we have noticed, the object in view is to ". quench the
smoking flax,'* but not to ^^ break the bruised reed." If
not to stop the drunkard's career at the beginning, when
it must be comparatively a secret, it is to catch him in his
first public aberration, and save him from farther delin-
quency and madness.

Obiections are raised to what is called an infraction of ?^j®®!^*?™

.... to legisla-

the liberty of the subject, but in public asylums, the habeas tion.
corpus would be in force if the recommendation of what
has been sneeringly called ^^the drunkards parliamentary
committee " be adopted. There can be no pretence what-

2(32 [CuAr. IX.

ever for saying that personal liberty is infringed, when
the unfortunate dipsomaniac has sense enough left to
commit himself to the hospitality, care, and cure provided
by a private home adapted to his condition, sometimes at
the expense of the country.

Yet in any form objectors are to be found to tlie plan
of secluding the distressed victim of drink, no longer able
to take care of himself, and too headstrong in his paroxysms,
too stupid in his potations, and too infatuated at all times
to allow his family or friends to take eiScient charge of
him. If in an interval of light and reflection, he volun*
tarily places himself out of the way of the world, in the
custody of intelligence and kindness, with a view to
his restoration to the status from which he fell^ it would
indeed be a desperate and scandalous invasion of the
liberty of the subject were he prevented by any law,
existent or future, from doing so. It is necessary, or ai
all events, proper to notice the tone and temper in which
the objections are urged. It is, however, neither necessary
nor comporting with the space at our disposal to take in
view all sorts of objections. The most formidable are to
be found among influential members of the faculty,
although many of the highest standing endorse tlie plans
here advocated.
Dr. C. Doctor Charles Bucknill is one of the most recent and

on the powerful of the objectors. In his article in the ContempO'
treatment ^^^^ Review^ before quoted on another point of the contro^
inebriates, versy^ he objects to any confinement of inebriates except
for offence against the law, for which he would not hold
them as responsible like other men only, but considers
their intoxicated habits an aggravation of the offence
committed. His opinion is tlvat to limit their freedom at
all simply as drunkards^ is a violation of personal liberty,
and should be regarded with the utmost constitutional

Chap. IX.] 263

jealousy. He quotes the immortal Milton, in support of
his views, who in his " Areopagitica," draws so much of
his argument in favour of" unlicensed printing, from the
supposed liberty of unlicensed drunkenness " {sic). But
Milton only argues as to the hopelessness of putting down
drunkenness, any more than fornication and some other
vices, by statute. He apparently never had presented to
his mind the remedial and benevolent proposal now made
in the interest of the otherwise hopeless inebriate. The
learned Doctor also quotes John Stuart Mill, to the effect
that *^ no person ought to be punished for simply being
drunk." One can go the whole length with the great
metaphysician in such a proposition, without conceding
one iota of what is contended for in this chapter. If we
admitted the logician and philosopher to be infallible, the
basis of his argument does not cover the question here
discussed.

The very fact of further legislation being necessary is a Legialatlwi
proof of the evil efiects of alcoholic drinks upon society at ^®^®"*^"
large, hence^ while there may be a difference of opinion as
to the mode of legislation required, all will agree that
something should be done to legally bring the dipsomaniac
under treatment

In England there is a great jealousy about the infringe-
ment of the liberty of the subject, therefore it is very
diflScult to legislate for a social evil taking away the
liberty of an individual who has not committed a
breach of the civil law, but is killing himself by imbibing
excessively of drink which is the beverage of nine-
tenths of Englishmen 5 and is recognized as such by the
Government of the country who derive £30,000,000 ster-
ling from the traffic in alcohol liquors for the disbursement
of its internal affairs, including crime arising from drink.

The only rational way to look at the matter^ is that it

264 [Chap. IX.

is a necessity to prevent human beings killing themselves
when they are brought into such a state by drinking as to
be irresponsible beings ; and when persons are not able
to enjoy liberty within certain limits, although they may
not openly break the law, to bring them within the power
of the police. The interest one human being should have
in another is such (if he fulfils his duty) that he should
make it his imperative duty to look after those of his fellow
creatures who are not able to take care of themselves ; it
is not a question of liberty that must bg looked to, but
humanity.

The main object of the Select Committee of the House
of Commons was to inquire into what analogy there was
between a lunatic and a dipsomaniac, and the committee
very justly recommended that there should be a law to bring
the dipsomaniac under treatment just as much as the
lunatic, within certain limits.
Inebriety The only difference between inebriety and insanity is, the
Insanity. 0"® ^s produced by excessive drinking of alcoholic stimu-
lants, and is generally harmless^ and immediately the effects
of the drink are removed the subject becomes perfectly sane,
while the other may be suffering from organic disease of
the brain, from which, in all probability, he may never
recover, and requires to be placed under restraint to prevent
him doing himself or fellow creatures any bodily injury.

It is well known that habitual drunkards cannot over-
come their desire for drink without exercising almost
superhuman control over their actions ; they are generally
extremely nervous and highly sensitive, and In their
moments of sobriety feel their degraded position most
acutely ; and being disgusted with themselves, often rush
recklessly into their old habits to drown their feelings,
and it is with a view ^of restraining such persons that
coercive measures are recommended.

Chap. IX.] 265

No doubt if the law should come into force the dypso-
maniac will no longer be a free agent to manage himself
or his affairs^ and it will require very stringent and judicious
management to prevent great cruelties being inflicted.
Institutions or asylums where patients are brought under
treatment should be provided with every known appliance
that could be made available to lessen or soothe the suffer-
ings and ameliorate the condition of these unfortunates^
in the process of weaning them from their old habits and
restoring their shattered constitutions.

They should be treated with the greatest kindness and Inebriates
consideration^ and legislation which does not regard this be treated
fact, and exercise the most vigilant superintendence over ^^^^7-
the officials in dipsomania asylums, will entail great
suffering on the patients, and not a few will be driven into
hopeless mania.

The Act of Parliament, wisely and judiciously adminis-
tered, will not only prove a great boon to individuals
but to the public at large, will prevent pauperism and
crime of every description, and will materially reduce
the rates.

The baneful effects of alcohol taken in excess need no Opinion of
further comments at my hands, but there is a divided men on
opinion amonor medical men of equal repute as to the ^^^ol as

a medicine

medicinal advantages of alcohol taken in such proportions
as may be recommended. I might enter into a long
discussion and rake up medical evidence to an indefinite
extent both pro and con, but I have already far exceeded
the limits I intended giving this subject. I have read Dr.
Richardson's '^Besearches into Alcohol, and its Medicinal
Action; " and if his analytical investigation can be relied
upon, alcohol taken in any form is most pernicious and
injurious to the body ; also that there are other medicinal
stimulants in the pharmacy which will effect the same

2G6 [CuAF. IX

purpose as alcohol is supposed to do without being injurious,
hence the plea often adduced in favour of alochol and the
absence of a better stimulant is at an end*
jUcohol Alcohol cannot be said to be a natural drink at all, for^
natural ^^^ being ammilable to the body or entering into its
drink. elementary composition, it can never even assist in repair-
ing the loss of the fluid parts of the blood caused by
evaporation and tlie action of the secretive and exhalant
organs, but only serves to render the blood more thick
and viscid. Neither can it assist in the nutrition
of the body, as remarked by the late Dr. Abernethy ,
any more Uian the ** whip or spur " can feed the horse or
add to its vital powers. The late Sir Astley Cooper
declared the London draymen to be the least able to endure
an accident or a surgical operation of any class of patients
he had to do with.

Dr. Fereira lays down the following axiom, '^ A living
body has no power of forming new elements, or of convert-
ing one elementary substance into another, and it, there-
fore, follows that the elements of which an animal is
composed must be also the elements of his food."

A great maxim of the ancients was set forth in the
words, " Know thyself," and did we but pause for a few
moments to consider of what minute, delicate and fragile
materials we are composed, we should hesitate, seriously
hesitate, ere we committed to our digestive organs the
heterogeneous, artificial and unassimilable substances par-
taken of as food and drink by the unthinking multitude
around us.
Thirty years ago the medical profession advised alcoliolic

* I ehouldzecommend all my readsis wlio are amdoua for more ialoxma*
lion on the action of alcohol to read Dr. Bichardaon'g researches, as veil
as several other excellent works on the subject, which can be had at th»
Officesof the United Kingdom Alliance, 62, Parliament Street.-

i

Chap, IX.] 2n7

drink to their patients wholesale, scarcely without any Jf^^^^^^:
stint, and there is little doubt that the present tippling, views of
especially among the fair sex, is directly or indirectly due ^^^^
to the indiscreet recommendation of alcohol by the medical alcohol.
profession. As proof of this daring the last few years they
have considerably modified their views, and seeing that
the medical wants of thirty years ago were much about
the same as they are now, the modification is an admission
of their error^ and I hope the process of reduction will go
on so that in fifty years hence perhaps the evils, commenced
thirty years ago will in a measure be compensated for in
the shape of a considerable diminution of drunkenness.

In tracing the history of medical treatment from Hip-
pocrates, there has evidently been a tendency on the part
of the profession to accept the opinions of some medical
men of repute as to a particular remedy discovered by
them, and prescribing it for nearly all the ills that flesh
is heir to ; hence, you often see a remedy once in high
repute fall suddenly into insignificance to give place to
another quite different drug, which again is administered
without the slightest investigation as to its action.

In perusing medical literature the idea forces itself
upon us that the changes in the treatment of disease are
as variable as the fashions, and the change which has
taken place respecting alcohol is only a sample of those
which have occurred and are occurring, and shows at least
a great want of stability in the theory of the medical
art.

While the medical profession, as a body^ are open to
grave censure in prescribing alcohol so extensively, they
are compelled in some cases to pander to the whims of
their patients^ and the medical attendant, no doubt, often
permits his bon vivant patient to take a little stimulant for
the sake of peace and quietness, and to retain his patronage.

268 [Chap. IX.

Tliere seems to be a kind of inberited vicious taste in
this conntiy for alcobolic drinks^ wbicb need not be
wondered at considering, in a great many instances^
drinking commences in the cradle and ends in the grave.

It is no nse denying the fact that the prevailing opinion
of the medical profession is in favour of alcohol, both as a
beverage and medicinal agents and they still prescribe it
largely. Patients are very self-willed, and there are very
few general practitioners who are in a position to dictate
to them too much without the risk of losing their clients ;
and there are so many gentlemen in the same profession^
making the patients somewhat independent; so that
between the dependency and the independence there is a
good deal of diplomacy required on the part of the medical
man to discharge his duties conscientiously. Hence it is
quite as great an art with the medical profession to study
character as to study remedies.
Treatment Without arguing the »use of alcohol in the treatment of
mania**^ some diseases, in dipsomania it must be like adding fuel to
the fire, and the system adopted of gradually xceaning
the inebriate from stimulants, has been found not only
difficult but oftentimes ineffectual. The irritation kept
up in the stomach is just sufficient to give the patient
a hankering after stimulants and to prevent the return
of the normal appetite, in many cases the remedy proves
worse than the disease.

The only effectual alternative stimulant is external
appliances, such as the hot-air bath, the wet-sheet
pack, &c., which bring the skin into vivid action^
increase the circulation, while ccfmbustion becomes
greater, and the disease produced by super-alcoholicism is
carried off rapidly. The change effected in the system
causes the patient to feel less desire for drink, and his
.normal appetite is restored.

Chap. IX.]

269

Dr. John Goodman, M.R.O.S., Lond., an eminent I>r. Good-
authority, describes the comparative merits and effects water and
of Water and Alcohol upon the human organism: — Alcohol.

WATER.

1. — ^Increases the interstitial
metamorphosis or change of
issues.

2. — ^Baths cause a considerably
increased demand in the system
for oxygen, manifested by aug-
mented respiration and amount of
carbonic acid expired.

3. — Assists in the solution of
effete matters and increases all the
secretions, carrying off rapidly the
waste or effete material from the
system.

4. — Increases appetite and de-
mand for food.

6, — ^Especially by the employ-
ment of baths, causing a rapid
change of tissue, and increased
demand for oxygen in respiration,
water increases the rapidity of
development of nerve force and
animal heat.

6. — ^Water, by its cooling
agency, tends to destroy aU inflam'
matory affections, in the mucous
membranes, and to increase tbe
healthy action of the mucous,
alsine, and all otber secretions and
evacuations.

ALCOHOL.

1. — ^Arrests the normal change
of matter by absorbing the oxygen
&om the arterial blood, which, ia
necessary for metamorphosis.

2. — ^Diminishes the amount of
carbonic acid expired, although
it increases the amount of carbon
in the blood.

3. — Lessens the excretion both
of solid and fluent constituents of
the urine. It also decieases the
amount of carbonic acid given off
by the lungs, and the other excre-
tions of the body in proportion to
the period of its employment.

4. — Alcohol and tobacco decrease
the desire for food generally by
arrest of function, diminished
metamorphosis of tissue and
retention of waste.

5. — By its general effects on the
nervous system, as a stimulant, it
exhausts the nervous fluid ; or, as
a narcotic, it impedes its action ;
it also lowers - the vital actions
generally, diminishes assimilation,
decreases combustion, and, there-
fore, limits the production of
animal heat.

6. — ^Alcohol, by its heating and
stimulating influence^ developes
inftammatory action in the mucous
membranes, and in whatsoever
tissaes it enters, and tends to dry
up all healthy secretions.

270

[ClIAP. IX.

7.— Water drinking and bathing
determine the force of blood to the
skin, muscular organs, and snr&ce
of the body, when the heat of the
blood is healthfully diffused, and
admirably employed for the
reaction, the external sangnifica-
tion and warmth of the skia, and
endurance of atmospheric change.

7. — Alcohol, hi combination with
the oxygen of the arterial blood
immediately after respiration, ai
once begins to diffuse its heat in the
pulmonary organs; in the heart
through which it passes, and in
all the large vessels, the brain,
nervous Centres, and other internal
organs by them supplied, tending
to the development of irritation,
congestion, or inflammation in the
interior of these vital organs,
which rob the sarfiuse of its blood*
heat, and endurance of cold.

Dr. Parish
recora-
roends the
Turkish
Bath in
Dipso-
mania
Cases.

Hydropa-
thic treat-
ment of
dipso-
mania.

Dr. Parish, in his evidence before the House of
Commons Committee, stated that, in a private asylum
for dipsomaniacs, of which he is one of the physicians,
an important part of the treatment was the application
of the Turkish Bath.

I have also seen most excellent results from it in
combination with other hydropathic appliances in all forms
of drunkenness.

It supplies a stimulant, improves the appetite, gives tone
to the nerves, and promotes general exhilaration in the
system of such patients, so that they do not miss the
noxious excitements they formerly so greedily sought, but
soon learn to prefer the genial, wholesome, sustaining
stimulant of the bath, which, unlike the fickle and
treacherous alcohol, is followed by no depressing reaction,
but is progressive alike in the love for it which it creates, -
and the vigour which it imparts. The efficacy of the hot-
air bath in relieving the system from poisons with which
it may be saturated, I have demonstrated elsewhere ; it is
unnecessary here to repeat my account of the modus
operandi^ let it suffice to relate that so specific is the action
on the skin that its suppressed, or repressed and dis-

Chap. IX.] 271

organized functions are restored ani even revived;
deleterious matter, which the system has absorbed, is
expelled ; even the poison of alcohol, which the great
reformer, John Wesley, called *^ slow but subtle," cannot
elude its power; the Turkish Bath cleanses the system
from the virusy relieves the saturated ventricles of the
brain, spinal marrow and nervous system, until the patient
literally rejoices in the liberty it bestows, and would not
again bow his nock to the former slavery which bound
him down and debased him. Not only is there a cure,
but the patient perceives the rationale ^ soon acquiesces in
so genial and practical a philosophy, and learns not only
to desire the cure and appreciate it, but to take pleasure '
in the manner by which he is cured. In this way it is
the most important of all instrumentalities in the recovery,
renovation, and restoration to home of the dipsomaniac.

I cannot conclude this chapter without referring to the Influences
check given to the drink traffic by the United Kingdom suppres-
Alliance. No doubt a good deal of the modifications of the ?°" 9^
law, the conversion of so many ministers, as well as the ness.
sentiments expressed by so many of the judges, is owing
in a great measure to the influence brought to boar on
the public by the Alliance movement.

Sir Wilfrid Lawson's pertinacity in bringing forward
the Permissive Bill year by year is most praiseworthy,
and he should be regarded as one of the greatest philan-
thropists of the present age, as no doubt future generations
will be benefitted by the influence he has brought to
bear on the drink question. I hope the movement
will continue to prosper and be well supported.

Although eulogizing the United Kingdom Alliance I
must say that I have often been surprised that the attention
of the agitators, including Sir Wilfrid Lawson, has not
been turned to the question of providing public houses for

272 [Chap. IX.

the working classes without the beer; sach institutions
has been advocated hj Mrs. Captain Baylej, authoress
of " Bagged Homes,'* Mrs. Wightman, authoress of
numerous good books, and Mrs. Donovan, authoress of
" Sanitary Facts," &c. These ladies have for years en-
deavoured to impress upon the public the desirability of
forming a society for establishing public houses where no
intoxicants should be sold, and where working men could
congregate for social intercourse. I think the United
Kingdom Alliance would do well to give such a move-
ment their adhesion.

I am afraid, however, that influences brought to bear in
the attempt to suppress or check the liquor traffic, will
have but little effect so long as the Government of the
country touches and handles that which is unclean. It
is, in fact, a calamity, when the Grovernment derives
nearly half its income from this vile source. It was a
mere sham and a farce to appoint a select committee to
inquire into the question of drunkenness with a view of legis-
latinof for the evil, when in fact the revenue has a direct
interest in the liquor traffic. How then, in the name
of all that is honourable, charitable, humane, or con-
sistent, can any Government or collective body expect
anything else than the present appalling results from the
drinking customs of the country which they patronize
and protect ? while they place no restriction on the com-
petition of legitimate traders. Well may Judge Manisty
remark " that it is only by the grace of God there are
not more victims."

Chap. X.] 273

CHAPTER X.

l^ettebs fbom statesmen, noblemen, medical men,
lite!babt men of eminence, and OTHEBS.

THESE letters were received in answer to the following
communication : —

The Commissioners of Bather for the Parish of Paddington are about to
erect Baths and Washhonses for the Working Classes, and they are anxious
to add the Turkish Bath and heated Lavatories Qn. which to wash and bathe)
to the ordinary arrangements. These, it is urged, would be in greater
request during the winter months, and would also attract many bathers
who do not care to take the ordinary warm bath administered in a cold
room.

Mr. Metcalfe and other Commissioners are supporting this proposal, and
they are anxious to strengthen their case by opinions as to the value of the
Turkish Bath.

Would it be too much to ask for your view on the Bath as a sanitary
and cleansing agent, and the desirability of affording the Working Clas-ses
the facilities named ? They do not ask your opinion of the Bath as a remedial
agent, that being beyond the scope of their proposal.

I was one of the first Commissioners appointed to carry out the
provisions of the Bath and Washhonses Act in the parish of Pad-
dington, and during the time occupied with preliminaries, selecting
the site, &c., I strenuously advocated the right of the poor to be

274 [Chap. X-

provided with hot-air baths and warm lavatories^ in addition to the
usual bathing appliances. I could not be blind to the fact that my
colleagues regarded me as a necessary nuisance — hot-air hath mad
— ^but being the only Gonunissioner who had a thorough knowledge
of the bath question^ it would have been inconvenient to oppose
me^ at this stage of the imdertaking, hence my proposal did not
meet with any direct opposition until they had used me for carry-
ing their proposal before the Vestry. Knowing that advocates of
any new thing generally experience fractious opposition, I there-
fore endeavoured to enlist the sympathy and support of the
Board, and with this view, I obtained a host of letters from
influential gentlemen, having observed when other subjects came
before the Vestry, the collected outside opinions materially
influenced their action, and I thought it might have some wdght
in my case with the Commissioners..

Being anxious not to lose the opportunity of having the
hot-air bath recognized in the Baths and Washhouses of this
great metropolis, I was perplexed to know how the members of
the Vestry coold be enlightened upon the question, and,
" like a drowning man catching at a straw," it occurred to me I
would procure a work bearing on the subject by an eminent
author, and present it to the members (numbering over
seventy), accordingly, at considerable cost, a copy of Dunlop's
'^ The Bath ; or. Air and Water in Health and Disease/' was
presented. Notwithstanding these efforts no impression was
made, and as a proof of their indifference to the subject, I found,
a few weeks afterwards, copies of the book I had presented,
and bearing tihe mark of the. Vestry, exposed for sale in the
immediate neighbourhood.

I have thought it right to publish the whole of the letters
received in which an opinion is given for or against the bath, in
order that both sides of the question may be fairly before the
readers, who will be in a better position to determine on their
merits.

Chap. X.] 275

I may add that although the letters were obtained for a specific
object^as stated above^no restriction was placed upon their publica-
tion ; and as this work is purely philanthropic, and published for
the purpose of advocating the erection of hot-air or Turkish Baths
for the working classes^ it is in this spirit they are introduced here.
Some of the letters received were very elaborate, and were really
little essays. I was therefore compelled to delete extraneous
matter with a view of economizing space and sparing expense.
Should any gentleman on perusing them think I have omitted
any important portion, they wi^l, I hope, acquit me of any intention
of giving offence in using their communications for any other
object than the one it was given fon

Many of the letters are from gentlemen of distinction, and will,
I am sure, command the attention of the readers, and add con-
siderably to the importance of the volume.

From tU Bight Hon. LofiD CABLmaf OBD.

In replj to yottr letter, I have no difficulty in saying that having taken an
interest some years ago in the introduction of the Turkish Bath into this
country, throTigh the exertions of Mr. DavidlJrquhart, I think very highly of
it, as a means of comfort, cleanliness, and health, and I should be very glad to
see its use extended to the working classes.

Board of Works, Whitehall Gardens.

From Lord Kinkaibd, RossU Priory^ Inchture, N.B.

I think the Turkish Bath would be appreciated by many and taken advan-
tage of.

At a time when Fleuro-*£neumonia was raging in this district, I used it with
great success for my cattle ; and, when the heat was up, and when unoccupied
by cattle, I had numerous applications to use the bath.

The great drawback is the length of time it takes for using it, but, on the

T 2

276 [Chap. X.

other hand, the extra expense of fitting up one in connection with baths and
and waahhonses ought not to be great. The flue of the furnace being conveyed
in fire-clay pipes heats the room, while the furnace supplies steam and hot
water for the washhouses and baths.

Besides the above, I steam food for cattle, and iby furnace heats a Idln f 6r
^rjring grain.

The water apparatus attached to the Turkish Bath, would be most valuable
in your establishment, and would supersede, or could be applied in each bath
room. It partakes of the character of a steam, or Russian Bath ; is far superior
for cleansing purposes than a hot bath, occupying only about twenty minutes ;
is most efficacious for colds, rheumatism, sprains, bruises, &c.

When any of my work people meet with an accident they come for a hot
and cold spray, or douche, and on Saturday evening or Sunday morning the
water apparatus is in request.

I will send you some plans and specifications. I have one in the house
which heats hot water pipes for passages and oonservatoiy, the other at
the farm for purposes described above. I shall be happy to supply you with

any information, if you require it.

— ^— ^*—

From (he late Right Hon. Lord Lytton, P.C., G.C., M.C. (received one

week before he died,)

In reply to your request, I should say that the opinion of an •eminent
medical man is worth more than all the opinions to be obtained from persons
like myself. So far as I can pretend to judge, I should think the Turkish
Bath a very desirable adjunct to any bathing establishment, especially for the
working classes, partly because not ^&th is so cleansing from all those morbid
particles which adhere to the skin in various departments of operative labour,
and partly because it seems to have a specific effect on those sadden chills
and rheumatic attacks to which the working classes are necessarily subjected.
At the same time, I have heard from an eminent medical authority that the
Turkish Bath is likely to do serious mischief wherever there is any tendency
to disekse of the heart, and in some other maladies.

Argyll Hall, Torquay.

From the Right Hon. John Laird Mair Babok Lawrence, G.C.B., G.C.S.I.

I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter^ and to inform you that in
my opinion a moderate use of the Turkish Bath is very beneficial as a cleans-
ing and sanitary agent, when used in moderation, for all persons.

From long experience of its use, I think it would do good if introduced
among the working classes.

2G, Queen's Gate, S.W.

CHAr. X.] 277

From A. McAethur, Esq., M.P.

I am in receipt of your letter requesting my opinion of ^' the Turkish Bath
as a cleansing and sanitary agent.*'
In both respects I consider it most efficacious.
Brixton Rise, S.W.

From the late Charles Gilpin, Esq., M.F.

In reply to your note, there can be no doubt as to the cleansing agency of
the Turkish Bath, but I fear I should not be an entirely satisfactory witness
in its favour, as on th)9 seyeral last occasions of taking it, I have from some
cause or other got considerably chilled ; so that my faith once strong in the
Turkish Bath is now weak.

10, Bedford Square, W.C.

From Right Hon, A. S. Aybton, M.P.

I am directed by Mr. Ayrton to acknowledge the receipt of your letter,
and in reply to state that it is not within the province of the First Com-
missioner's official duties to express any opinion on the mode of carrying out
the parochial proxision of Baths, but his personal opinion is that the
Turkish Bath can only be regarded as a sanitary agent when used under
medical advice for particular disorders, and that, for the purpose of cleanliness,
it is better to provide the very cheapest means of washing, and not the most
costly, which, used under improper conditions, would be injurious to health.

H.M.'s Office of Works, 12, Whitehall Place, S.W.

From Sir Thomas Watson, Bart., M.D., F.R.C.P., &c.

In reply to your communication asking for my opinion of the Turkish
Bath **as a sanitary and cleansing agent,'' I cannot hesitate to say that,
properly regulated, I believe it to be both the one and the other.

As to *Hhe advisability of affording the working classes the facilities
named ' ' in your letter, my own opinion is that, unless you can calculate upon
recourse to those facilities by a large number of persons, not belonging to
the working classes (as I understand these words), the expense of providing
them must prove a serious impediment to the project. I discern no other
objection.

16, Henrietta Street, W.

278 [Chap. X.

Frm, the laU Sir W. Febousson, Bari, M.D., F.R.S., &c.

In reply to yoor note, I hare no hesitation in stating that I consider the
Turkish Bath as a powerful cleansing and sanitary agent ; snch as wonld be
a valuable adjunct to all ordinary bath establishments.

16, George Street, W.

Fhm e^ 2ale Sir Jamss E. Martin, MrD., C.B.« F.R.S.

In reply to your letter, desiring my opinion as to the desirability of the
proposed Turkish Bath and heated lavatories in whi<^ to wash and bathe,
I beg to state that as popular means, if placed under proper inspection and
regulation, the Turkish Bath and heated lavatories may become very highly
conducive to the advancement of public health.

You exclude, very properly I think, the consideration of the uses of these
additional baths, as remedial means, fw they are matters altogether separate
and distinct.

37, Upper Brook Street, W.

JFhwi Dr. W. B. Carpenter, r.R.S;, &c.

In re^y to your letter I have to say that I entertain a very high opinion of
the value of the Turkish Bath, occasionally used as a sanitary, uid more
particularly, as a cleansing agent.

University of London, Burlington Gardens, W.

Dr. A. LearED, F.R.C.P., Senior Physician to the Great Northern Hoqdtal^
Physician to the Infirmary for Diseases of the Chest. Author of a peeper on
the Treatment of Phthisis by the Turkish Bath, which appeared in (he*^ Lancet^"*
November and December, 1863.

In reply to your letter asking for my opinion of the Turkish Bath as a
sanitary agent, it gives me pleasure to have the opportunity of saying that I
regard its proposed introduction by the authorities of Paddington into
their parish with great interest, and as a most important step. I quite
agree that the Turkish Bath would attract many bathers who would not care
for the ordinary warm bath.

Speaking from experience of the Turkish Bath in this and in Eastern
countries, I should add tfaat.it combines care of physical health with agree-
able relaxation.

Suclt a provision for the classes for which the bath is, in the present
instance, intended is most desirable.

12, Old Burlington Street.

Chap. X.] 279

From Dr. Morell Mackenzie, M.R.C.P., Physician to the Hospital for
Diseases of the Throaty and Senior Assistant Physician to the London Hospitah

I beg to state that I consider that the establishment of the Turkish Baths
and hot-air lavatories in the parish of Faddington, as proposed by .Mr. B.
Metcalfe, for the benefit of the working classes, could not ffiil to be of great
sanitary value.

When the existence of such a lavatory became known there is no doubt
that many would use it who do not now avail themselves of the ordinary
bath.

13, Weymouth Street, W.

From Dr. W. Batcheloub, MX.AXt, &e^

The Turkish Bath is one of the best sanitary agents^ and if placed within
the reach of all classes would be a national benefit.
3, Turner's Place, S.W.

From Dr. E. J. Farkes;

If it is proposed to add a Turkish Bath to the ordinary establishment, and
if this can be done without great, expense, then I think it would be an
excellent arrangement. There is, I think, no doubt that the Turkish Bath, if
used with the cold douche or plunge at the end, is- one of. the best cleansing
and most effective baths we have.

Of course the question of cost of erection and of working, and the
consequent price of the bath, are matters which have to be very carefully
considered, and in which I am not competent to form an opinion. I think,
however, that if the cost of the Turkish Bath were so great as to raise the
cost of common hot and cold water baths, in order to get a return on the
money expended, then even the Turkish Bath might be purchased too dearly.

Sydney Cottage, Bitteme, Southampton.

FromDi. C. B. Radcliffe, F.R.C.P.

I believe that the addition of Turkish Baths and heated lavatories in
which to wash and bathe) to the baths and washhouses, about to be erec
in Faddington, would be, in many ways, very desirable.

25, Cavend^fili Square. *

280 [Chap. X.

From Dr. J. Macphebson, liutpector-General of Hospitals (H.MJLA,

retired).

I am satisfied that the oceadaoal xae of the Turkish Bath forma a Yerj
useful supplement to ordinary bathing, as by its emiJOoyment the skin can
be more thoroughly cleansed than by any common both.

I should be Tery glad to see the Turkish Bath placed witlun the readi of
the working classes.

35, Curzon Street, W.

From Dr. Geo. Wtld.

I have a high opinion of the hot-air bath, both in a sanitaiy and social
point of yiew. If hot-air chambers could be opened for the recepticm of
working people, where washing operations could be carried on, they would
be Tery attractire, especially in cold weather, and would, in my opinion,
induce many to cleanse themselves who now neglect to do so, or shrink
from it.

An important question for consideration would be whether the luxnij
could be made self-supporting. The hot-air, unless well YentOated, would
be more or less injurious.

12, Great Cumberland Place, W.

From Dr. T. H. Tukz, RILCP.

I consider the Turkish Bath of great value in the treatment of disease,
and in health most useful in insuring cleanliness and promoting the proper
action of the skin.

37, Albemarle Street, W.

From Dr. John Murray, M.ILC.P.

I sympathize with the object you have in view. During the past three
years I have had considerable experience of the Turkish Bath, and entertain
a very high opinion of its value as a cleansing and sanitary agent.

I believe that your proposal, if carried out, wiU be productive of much
good to the working classes.

42, Harley Street, W.

From, Dr. J. Lockhart Clarke, F.R.S.

I quite approve of the addition of Turkish Baths to the establishment at
Paddington, and think it desirable in a sanitary point of ^iew.
64, Harley Street, W.

Chap. X.] 281

From Dr. Holt Dunk.

I have not studied the Turkish Baths as much as I ought to have done ;
but trust shortly to avail myself of the facilities you have kindly given me,
and to become better and more practically acquainted with its many merits,
as a therapeutic agent, &c.

You ask my opinion of the Turkish Bath as a sanitary and cleansing agent
(not as a medical one). I do not think there can be any doubt of its
value as both. Since the days of the ancients it is to be found in all the
early classical medical literature, I believe, and has been handed down from
age to age as no mean legacy bequeathed us by our ancestors.

All modem philosophers agree in the importance of maintaining the action
of the skin, and sanitary doctors know it to be as important to have the
drainage of our bodies in order, as it is to have that of the locality in which
we live, and I know of no means by which the skin can be kept in such
perfect working order as by the use of the Turkish Bath, which is the
perfection of cleansing agents, and thus becomes also a great, powerful, and
important sanitary one.

I am sure the public and the profession are greatly in your debt, and
should be very grateful for the time and talent you have devoted, as well
as large capital, in order to advance the knowledge of the Turkish Bath,
and to perfect it as you have at your own establishment.

69, Hereford Road, W.

Dr. A. ToULMiN, M.R.C.S.E.y Author of a paper on (he importance of the
Functions of the Skin in the Treatment of Tubercular Diseases, recommending
the Hot'oir Bath as a specific remedy; read before the Harvean Society, and
reprinted from the ^^ London Medical Review,*''

Speaking from a long and practical, experience of the sanitary and
cleansing properties of the hot-air bath (in contradistinction of the vapour
bath), I know of no boon, next to a sufficient supply of food and raiment,
of so much value to the poor in general as these baths; not alone in a
sanitary point of view, but also in a moral and religious one, as the best
means of helping the poor out of their present slough of despondency, by
removing their strong craving for alcoholic drinks, as the only means they
know of for alleviating their permanent sense of want and misery. Dr.
Mullinger, physician to the Sultan, tells us ** That in Turkey, where there
are no poor laws, nor hospitals, nor dispensaries, for the relief of the sick
poor, they at once, when ill, have recQurse to their bath, as their universal
remedy, taking no medicine, and trusting to it alone for recovery,'' and yet.

282 [Chap. X.

Dr. Mullinger adds, " on looking at their bilk of mortality, we find them as
favourable to longevity as those of England."

I had tihnost omitted to mention that one of the most important effects of
the bath is the removal of all sense of weariness in the fatigued person
taking it.

46, Russell Road, W.

From Dr. J. G. Westmacott, L.R.C.P.S., Edin.

In reply to your note received to-day, relative to the sanitary and cleans-
ing agency of the Turkish Bath, I have no hesitation in saying that I believe
it would greatly conduce to both.

I have been in favour of the said bath since its first introduction into this
countiy, having also enjoyed the luxury frequai^y myself.

19, St. Mary's Terrace, W.

From Dr. Wiuberforce Smith, L.R.C.F., M.R.C.S.

In reply to your note, it seems to- me that the additbn of Toridtii Baths to
the proposed pubHe baths aiid washhouses would be a valiiable'improvement.

In my experience, the working classes- use the wann bath as a means of
ablution far too seldom ; and if the process of cleansing the skin were done
in the thorough manner insured by the Turkish Bath, this would, I believe,
somewhat compensate for its being done too seldom. I^should think that heated
lavatories, for the use of the ordinary warm bath, would be a great attraction,
and an inducement to bathe more frequently.

20, Bishop's Road, W.

From Dr. J. R. Reynolds, F.RC.P.

I think that the Turkish Bath is very useful as a sanitary and cleansing
agent, and that it would be well to extend its advantages to the working
classes.

38, Grosvenor Street, W.

From Dr. E. Cronin.

For many years I have had but one judgment as to Turkish Baths (so
called). Botii in a sanitary and medical point of view, when well constructed
and well supplied they are, I am persuaded, invaluable;

Claremont House, Brixton Road, S.W.

Chap. X.] 283

Frnn Dr. W. V. Drubt, M.R.I.A.

As I find so many people take Turkish Baths, I should think they, would
pay weU in any good neighbourhood where they were erected at a moderate
cost, where there was not abeady a supply, and where ^he cost of the bath
would bring it within reach of the middle classes.

Never having taken a bath of this kind, I regret that I cannot speak from
my own experience, but my patients who use them speak very favourably of
them.

7, Hariey Street^, W.

-FVtMii Dr. Charles Wrrr, M.R.C.P.

In compliance with your request, I have no hesitation in assuring yDu that
I believe greater benefit can hardly be conferred on the working classes than
the establishment of the Turkish Bath in addition to the ordinary ones
proposed for your pa^h«

The advantages of personal cleanliness and comfort need no comment, and
these are hardly atttainable by any means so effectually as- by the Turkish
Baithw In andeni Rome, where baths of wondrous splendour- were con-
structed ioT popular use, we* see in tiiem remaining proofs- of the value then
attached to this form of ablution. •

Furthermore, I may venture to state my conviction that numerous disorders
will be prevented, and that many will unquestionably be cured, by the
judicious use of the Turkish Bath, which now again must be considered as
one of our most valuable remedial agents.

11, Spring Gardens, W.

From Dr. L. A. GossE.

I have had the honour of receiving your letter, and I discharge a duty in
replying to the questions it contains, and which seem to me, in fact, to be in
the interests of your philanthropic views.

And in the first place you wish to know what I think of the desirability of
adding a Turkish Bath to the popular washhouse and ordinary baths which
you mean to establish. Now I am convineed of the advantages derivable
from the Turkish Bath, from a hygienic point of view, as a means more
efficacious than the usual warm baths for cleansing the skin thoroughly,
whether from detached epidermis particles or incrusted dirt, and, moreover,
to aid, by perspiration, the expulsion of elements noxious to health, especially
during the prevalence of epidemics. Therefore, I cannot but approve of

284 [Chap. X.

Mr. Metcalfe's proposition of adding a Turkish bath to the washing establish-
ment.

I am qi opinion, also, that in order to bring. this bath within the reach of
the poorer classes, the prices of admission should not be too high.

1, Bue des Granges, Geneya.

From Dr. R. QuAm, F.E.S.

In reply to your inquiry, I have no hesitation in saying that a well con-
structed, and carefully managed Hot-air Bath would be a very valuable
addition as a cleansing sanitary aid to an ordinary hot and cold water bathing
establishment ; and no one can doubt that *< warmed lavatories'' would be a
source of great comfort and a security against cold.

87, Harley Street, W.

From Dr. J. J. Garth Wilkinson, F.R.G.S., &c.

I am of opinion that an occasional Turkish Bath would be a suitable change
of skin and body, and of mind too, to the working classes^ and that it is a
wholesome public object to bring the bath within their reach.

76, Wimpole Street, Cavendish Square, W.

From Dr. Thomas Neatbt.

There is not room for two opinions as to the importance of the Turkish
Bath in a hygienic and sanitary point of view, apart from its value as a
remedial agent.

I am persuaded that the classes for whose benefit it is proposed, would, in
time, appreciate highly the boon which would be conferred on them by its
establishment.

29, Thurlow Koad, N.W.

. From Dr. H£Nry Thompson, F.R.C.P.

I am sorry I cannot give you a reply based upon personal experience, but
as far as I can ascertain from other people, I should say that Turkish Baths
are useful as sanitary and cleansing agents.

63, Queen Anne Street, W.

Chap. X.] 285

From Dr. C. T. Pearce, M.R.C.?.

lu reply to your note desiring my opinion of the Turkish Bath as a sanitary
agent, I have to say that it is one of the greatest blessings ever introduced of
a sanitary nature, because it does that for society which is better than curing
disease, yiz., prevents disease by keeping the bodies of those who use it in a
cleanly, vigorous condition. Ever since the iutroduction of the Hot-air Bath,
I have taken some pains to investigate its action, and I habitually use it to
preserve my health. The Baths Commissioners of Paddington, in my
opinion, cannot do better than adopt the suggestion for the health of the
masses, and the saving of the rates to householders. The loss arising from
the ** sickness of dirt " is enormous.

I shall hope to hear that the authorities of Paddington have set a good
example to the other parishes in the metropolis, and that it will be followed
extensively.

16, Great Castle Street, W.

From G. Sexton, Esq. M.A.

I have had considerable experience in the use of the Turkish Bath, and my
opinion is, that as a sanitary agent, it is unparalleled. I sincerely trust that
you will succeed in establishing one in Paddington in connection with the
Baths and Washhouses.

Should this be done, Paddington will have set a glorious example to be
followed hereafter, I have no doubt, by hundreds of other parishes.

17, Trafalgar Road, S.E.

Dr. W. Jackson Cummins, M.R.C.S., Physician to the Cork Lifirmary, AutJior
of ^^ PrevefUion better than Curey^ an address to the Stttdents of Cork
Infirmary and County Hospital^ also a pamphlet on the '* Hot-air Bath as a
Sanitary Agent,** ike.

The bath is largely availed of by the lower orders in Cork, but I am sorry
to say that it has not realized my anticipations that it would tend to diminish
intemperance, as drunkenness is largely on the increase ; but I am sure it has
tended to diminish the injurious physical effects of this degrading vice, and if
the Legislature could be induced to sever its alliance with the classes who are
interested in enticing the mass of people to commit suicide in public houses,
the bath would be a valuable substitute for porter and whisky.

I have charge of the medical departoient of the principal hospitals here, and
have large opportunities of judging, regarding the lower orders, especially trades-
people, and the classes above the labourers, the class most addicted to habitual

286 [Chap. X.

intemperance, and I can speak highly of the effect of the bath in relieving
the degeneration and disease of the organs and tissues which alcohol slowly
but surdj induces. I can speak in favour of its effects upon the general
habits and constitutions, and though it is now twelve years since my pamphlet
was published, increased experience has confirmed almost everything it
contains, and has made me value the bath more and more.
15, Charlotte Quay, Cork.

From the late Dr. Charles Bryce.

I have much pleasure in complying with your request to state my opinion
of the Turkish Bath as a cleansing and sanitiuy agent for the working classes.
My experience of its value in th^se respects has been of many years, in many
lands, and I say confidently, that inasmuch as personal cleanliness is conducive
to social and domestic well-being, this bath is surely the most effective and
safest of all baths, and, when properly constructed and worked, less costly
than the warm water tank into which many people emerse themselves together
for cleansing purposes. Besides, a person who has proved the comfort and
good of the Turkish Bath, and can resort to it cheaply, is weaned from pothouse
indulgence. For which reasons I consider the establishment of Turkish Baths
by municipal authorities a most excellent thing.

Old Steyne, Brighton.

From Dr. Tilbury Fox, F.R.C.P.

In reply to your note I beg to say that I regard the proposal of the Com-
missioners of Baths for the parish of Paddington to establish Tttrkish Baths
as a most admirable one. Putting aside the value of the Turkish Bath as a
curative or alleviative agent in disease, I regard the bath, judiciously given, as
a great luxury, a source of infinite comfort in giving relief from bodily and
mental fatigue, and as an important cleansing agent, as regards the skin of
healthy men, and especially serviceable to those who work hard. If the
commissionerB can bring the bath within the reach of the working classes, they
will be entitled to great credit.

In thus praising the Turkish Bath I wish it to be understood that I do not
regard it as some authorities do, as a panacea for all evils, and a preventive
for every derangement of health. The bath has its great hygienic use, and is
harmed by the in jui^cious utterances of pseudo savans in baneology.

14, Harley Street, W.

Chap. X.] 287

From Dr. Wiluam Bates.

In reply to yonr letter, in which you ask my opinion of the TorkiBh Bath
as a cleansing and sanitary agent, and as to its desirability as such an ag^it
for the working classes, I have great pleasure in saying that I conceive the
addition of the Turkish Bath (on a good scale) to the baths and washhouses
would be an incalculable boon to the working classes, and a great relief to
the poor's rate. The Turkish Bath, when used in moderation, is the best
and most complete means of purification to the skin. It is further of
immense service as a preventive against disease, and especially against the
disease of the poor, t.e., rheumatism. Further, it tends, when used in mode-
ration, to strengthen the skin, and thus to prevent colds and bronchial
coughs, which form, together with rheumatism, a large proportion of the
diseases which specially affect the poor, and lay them up from their work.

I therefore consider that the Turkish Bath should be added to the wash-
houses as a means of perfect skin cleansing, and as a means of preventing
disease.

68, Brook Street, W.

jFVoto Dr. J. KiDD.

I think the Turkish Bath is a most important sanitary and cleansing agent.
It would be a great boon to the working classes to have facilities for using it.
1, Finsbury Circus, E.G.

From T. S. Wei4^, F.R.C.S.

My opinion of the Turkish Bath has been published long ago.* 1 object to
giving anything like a testimonial upon any subject.
3, Upper Grosvenor Street, W.

From Sir W. W. Gull, Bart., M.D.

Sir William Gull directs me to acknowledge your note with his compli-
ments, and to say that the advantages to the working classes of properly
arranged baths and washhouses cannot be over estimated. Sir William does
not, however, think that the Turkish Bath is especially advantageous. From

* Lecture on the Kevival of the Turkish or Ancient Roman Bath, deliverel at
the GroBvenor Place School of Medicine.

288 [Chap. X.

his experience he Bhould think that opportunity for thorough cleanliess is
afforded by the ordinary warm bath ; nothing further could be desired.

Turkish Baths are probably more adapted to the indolent and luxmrious,
than to those who toil for their livelihood.

74, Brook Street, W.

From Dr. T. King Chambers, F.R.C.P., &c.

I do not consider the addition of the Turkish Bath to baths for the labour-
ing classes as advisable in a sanitary point of view.

1. Unless accompanied by anointing, which is costly, it renders an im-
perfectly clothed person more susceptible of cold.

2. It diffuses through the air, mixed with steam, the excretions from
the skin, which are thus drawn into the lungs of themselves and their
neighbours.

3. It discourages the use of the water bath, a healthy cleansing agent

4. It still more discourages open air bathing, and swimming among young
men.

5. It is^ a lengthy process and therefore a waste of time for those who
have none to spare.

64, Brook Street, W.

From Dr. Andrew Clarke, M.A.

As I think that the Turkish Bath should not be used without the sanction
of a medical man, I am unable to give my support to any project for its
indiscriminate and unguarded use.

16, Cavendish Square, W.

From Dr. G. Burrows, F.R.C.P., F.R.S., &c.

Dr. Furrows presents his compliments, and in reply he considers
the Turkish Bath, independent of its uses in the treatment of diseases,
most healthful in its uses by official, professional, and other men of
sedentary occupations, who never excite their skins into a state of per-
spiration, but he does not think that such a luxurious kind of bath is required
by artizans and the labouring classes of society.

18, Cavendish Square, W.

Chap. X.] ' 289

From Dr. E. Sieveking, F.R.C.P.

w

In reply to your request that I woxQd give an opinion as to the desirability
of Turkish Baths for the working classes, ** as a sanitary and cleansing agent,"
I beg to say that valuable as Turkish Bath» are in the treatment of certain
forms of disease, I do not regard their habitual use as desirable.

For the ordinary purposes of cleanliness, and the preservation of health,
warm, tepid, or cold baths, selected according to circumstances, are amply
sufficient, and they offer this further advantage, that they consume little
time, while the Turkish Bath, if not to prove absolutely prejudicial, demands
a*considerable expenditure of that, to most people, very valuable commodity.

17, Manchester Square, W.

From Dr. C. J. B. Williams, F.B.S.

In reply to your letter I must say that from wliat I have known of the
operation of the Turkish Bath in this country, I do not form a high estimate
of their utility for the working classes.

It is quite true that they are more cleansing and searching in their
operation than other baths, but, if used frequently, they would too much tax
the time and strength of the working man, and if used rarely, they would
not be an adequate substitute for the more salutary habit of regular simpler
ablutions, which are both easier and more safe.

49, Upper Brook Street, W.

From Dr. Thomas Ballard, M.R.C.S.

. In reply to your request for my opinion of the hot-air bath as a sanitary
and cleansing agent, and of the advisability of providing the working classes
with the proposed facilities of access to it, I beg to say that I have no
reason to regard it as useful as a sanitary agent, and that I consider it less
convenient for cleansing purposes than a hot -water bath.

I do not think the working classes will appreciate very highly the facilities
of access to the hot-air bath, because they have little leisure time, and are
not so much disposed to indulge in hygienic diversions as those who have
more leisure and means at their disposal.

Facilities of access to plenty of warm water and soap, with the necessary
accommodation for bathing and dressing, must be a great boon for all the
poorer classes,

10, Southwick Place, W.

U

290 [Chap. X.

From Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell.

Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell begs to state, respecting the propriety of intro-
ducing the Turkish Bath into the proposed baths for the working etasses,
that she has known so much mischief arising from the ignorant or careless
use of that powerful agent, the Turkish Bath, that she does not consider it a
safe appliance for ordinary public baths.

That the public bath house should be warmed in winter and an unlimited
supply of hot water proTided, is of course indic^ensable to its utility.

6, Burwood Place, W.

From Dr. Horace Johnson,

It gives me much pleasure to reply to your circular received the day before
yesterday.

I am sorry to say, however, I do not think it would be desirable to erect
the Turkish Bath referred to.

8, Ovington Square.

From Dr. W. Hardwicke, Coronor for Middlesex, late Medical Officer of

Health for Paddington.

In reply to yours asking for my opinion of the Turkish Bath as a " sanitary
and cleansing agent,'' I would refer you to the following abstract from a
lecture of mine : —

PuUic Baths in Ancient and Modem TYtwc*.— The hot-air bath .system, or
Turkish Bath, has many advantages over the ordinary warm bath. It is more
suitable for winter use than a common warm bath, and better at all times for
cleansing purposes, for the following reasons. No soap 'is required, the acid
secretions of the sweat glands, and the oily product of oil glands, form a kind
of natural soap in the surface of the skin, and when perspiration is excited by
heat, it readily detaches the loose scales of the scurf skin. It forms a soft
lubricating lather, better than soap, and quite as easily washed off by warm
water ablution. Cleansing in the ordinary warm bath must be effected by
the use of soap, and a scrubbing or flesh brush is often necessary.

Richmond ViUa, W.

From Dr. Septimus Gibbon, M.R.C.P., Medical Officer of Health, Holborn.

In reply to your communication, asking my opinion as to the desirability of
adding a Turkish Bath and heated lavatories to the new baths and wash-

Chap. X.] 291

houses it is proposed to erect in Faddington, I have no hesitation in saying
that I consider such an addition would be a very valuable boon to the
inhabitants.

The Turkish Bath is a powerful agent, which, now for nearly twenty years,
1 have beeii in the habit of employing for preventing as well. for curing
disease. A well-ccmatructed bath of this description is miich wanted in the
locality.

11, FinsburyTlace^ South, E.G.

FromM. J. ^McCofiMAGE, £sq., M.B., Medical Officer of Health, Lambeth.

in reply to your favour requesting my opinion as to the value of the^
Turkish Bath, as a sanitary and cleansing agent, and the advisability of
affording the working classes the facilities for using the same, I have no
hesitation in giving my humble opinion as to its value, and that it is a step in
the right.direction.as.far as sanitary measures are concerned. As to the efficacy
of it as a remedial agent I could also testify, but as you say it is not within the
scope of your proposal, I need not enter intp the question.

Vestry Hall, Kennington Green, S.E.

From Dr. J. W. Tbipe, Medical Officer of Healthy Hackney.

I coiuaider Tturkish Baths more likely to be useful in a sanitary point of
view for the working classes than any other, as the pores of their skin must
be more filled with dirt from the nature of their employment than those of
the middle and upper classes. I am, therefore, of opinion that, irrespective
of pecuniary arrangements, they would be most useful.

Town Hall, Hackney, E.

From C. F. J. Lord, Esq., M.R.C.S., Medical Officer of Healthy St. Johuy

Hampstead.

Your letter about the Faddington Baths did not come direct to me. I
regret that it has been since mislaid.

I am very favourable to the use of the Turkish Bath, and consider it' as an
excellent sanitary and cleansing agent for all classes of the population.

Hampstead, N.W.

u2

292 [Chap. X.

From Dr. J. S. Bristowe, F.R.C.P., Medical Officer of Health /or Camherwell;
Examiner in Medicine to the University of London^ Physician to St, Thomas's
Hospital

1 hardly know bow to reply to your note without entering upon the very
question which you exclude from its scope. I have no doubt that the Turkish
Bath is in many cases, and imder certain circumstances, a very important
curative agent. Apart from that, I fancy its chief use lies among those who
are in easy circumstances, and have much leisure on their hands. The time
that each bath requires renders it difficult of use at all (in whatever class of
life they may be) who are much occupied with work, and while I should
imagine it would be undesirable to make provision for the former, it would
be equally undesirable I think to encourage the latter to waste their time.

You hint, as a point in favour of the Turkish Bath, that that would be
administered in a warm room, whereas the ordinary warm bath would be
taken in a cold one. Would it not be possible to overcome that objection by
warming all that part of the building devoted to warm baths ? If this were
done, it seems to me that you would secure for your bathers every advantage
that a Turkish Bath itself could aiford, excepting that of having a lounging
place for the idle, and (what you say you do not require) a place of cure for
a small proportion of those who are sick.

11, Old Burlington Street, W.

From Dr. Nicholas, Medical Officer of Health, Wandsworth,

There cannot be a doubt aa to the desirability of establishing baths, hot
and cold, as well as washhouses for the poorer classes, and, indeed, for the
general public. There might, however, be a doubt as to the advisability of
giving the working classes a great facility of access to the Turkish Bath,
which is calculated for occasional and remedial, rather than for lavatory use,
and that under proper supervision. It would, however, be a useful addition
to the establishment proposed if carefully employed, and its too frequent use
precluded by a sufficiently high charge for admission.

2 & 3, Church Row, Wandsworth.

From J. J. Skegg, M.R.C.S., Medical Officer of Healthy St. Martin' s-inAhe-Fields.

The proposed idea of establishing in your parish the Turkish Bath for the
use of the working class, is a novel and excellent undertaking, and one, if
taken advantage of by the class for whom it is intended, will doubtless, in a
sanitary point of view, be of great benefit.

26, Northumberland Street, W.C.

Chap. X.] 293

From Dr. T. Orme Dudfield, L.R.C.P., Medical Officer of Health, Kensington.

In reply to your letter I beg to express my opinion in favour of the Turkish
Bath, &c., as a sanitary and cleansing agent. If it be practicable, I think
there can be no doubt as to the advisability of affording the working classes
the facilities named, which I doubt not would be much appreciated by them
when understood.

Kensington Vestry, W.

From S. TiLLT, Esq., r.R.C.S., Medical Officer of Healthy Rotherhithe.

Five years ago, in my annual report to the St. Saviour's District Board of
Works, I advised that baths and washhouses should be erected for the use of
the working classes. I am decidedly of opinion that the Turkish Bath and
heated lavatories would have in addition a very beneficial effect, and tend, in
a great degree, to promote the operation of sanitary laws.

Emerson Street, E.G.

From Dr. Thomas Stevenson, F.R.C.P., Medical Officer of Healthy St. Fancras.

The Turkish Bath is of great value as a sanitary and cleansing agent. The
great difficulty in introducing them for the use of the lower orders is the
expense.

10, Edward Street, N.W.

From T. J. Hughes, M.D., Medical Officer of Health, Woolwich.

l^ot a necessary, only a luxury.
Woolwich.

From Dr. J. Whitmore, M.R.C.S., Medical Officer of Health, St. Marylebone.

In reply to your letter in which you ask my opinion as to the desirability,
in a sanitary point of view, of erecting Turkish Baths for the use of the work-
ing classes, I find it difficult to speak of this description of bath otherwise
than as a medical or remedial agent ; there can, however, be no doubt that for
effectually cleansing the surface of the body it is greatly superior to the
ordinary warm bath, and for that reason is useful as a sanitary agent. The
addition of heated lavatories, in which to wash and bathe, appears to me to be
a luxury that would prove anything but invigorating to a class of persons
whose avocations necessarily expose them to cold and wet.

Court House, St. Marylebone, W,

294 [Chap. X.

From F. J. Burqe, Esq., M.R.C.S., Medical Officer of Healthy Fulham.

In reply to yours, I am of opinion that the addition of the Turkish Bath, &c.
for the purposes named, would be an unnecessary and useless adjunct.
Broadway House, Hammezsmith.

From Henry N. Pink, Esq., M.R.C.S., Medical Officer of Health, Greemoich,

In answer to your questions whether the Turkish Bath and heated lavatories
would be advisable for the working classes during the winter months, I would
express my opinion in decided oppositioa to their use. The risk of, and
exposure to cold after the use of the hot baths during the winter manths
would be very objectionable, and I should oppose any preposition x>f the kind
in this district.

Greenwich, S.E.

From Dr. H. Batbson, Medical Officer of Health, St. George-the-Martyr,

Southwark,

Dr, Bateson wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of. yours, on. the 9th
inst., and give you his opinion on the subject.

As a means of cleanliness there is nothing more efficient and satisfactory
than the baths in daily use at the Public Baths ; there is cold and hot water
at the choice of the bather, and this, with soap and brush, is all that is needed.

There is no necessity the rooms should be cold in winter, plenty of appli-
ances being at hand for warming them.

He considers the Turkish Bath a medical agent of great power, and should
liken its action upon the skin to a purgative upon the bowels, and this is not
required by those who simply desire to wash and be clean.

116, St. George's Boad, S.£.

FromW.TjEemJlS^r Ee^-f M.B.C.S., Medical Officer of Health, Si. Mary,

IsUngton,

My owA impression is against the propriety of establishing Turkish Baths
for the poor; I believe them unnecessary and not likely to be much used by
the poor alone. As to the warm bath in a cold room, it is really a thing bo
easily remedied that it does not deserve being alluded to.

37, Kennington Park Boad, S.E.

Chap. X.] 295

Frcm the late Dr. H. Lethbt, Medical Officer of Health for the City oj London,

I regret that in consequence of great pressure of engagements, I have not
had an opportunity of replying to your letter before this.

I do not think that the Turkish Baths are at all necessary for the use of
the working classes, but I think that heated lavatories in which to wash and
bathe during the cold weather would be a great advantage.

17, Sussex Place, N.W.

mm

Frotn Dr. M. Cobner, M.R.C.S., Medical Officer of Health, Mile End

Old Town, E.

The sanitary arrangemnts of a community cannot be complete without well
contrived public baths and washhouses ; comfortably warmed lavatories would
be a good plan and make the places more attractive and numerously attended ;
indeed, I lookupon a proper amount of heating of the rooms in cold weather
as a necessary addition to the healthy influence of the bath. With regard to
the Turkish Bath as a sanitary and cleansing agent, I believe its habitual use
both unnecessary and highly dangerous, and should certainly not be offered to
the uncontrolled use of the public, and especially of the labouring and poorer
classes, who would and could not take the necessary precautions to prevent
injurious effects after the bath.

The Turkish Bath is essentially a remedial agent and should be used witH
great care under skilled advice. I believe it often produces insidious injury,
of which the sufferer may be at the time unconscious ; it might be useful to
add a certain number of such baths for the use of the public, but only under
medical advice.

For all purposes of. cleanliness^ the ordinary bath, with more or less
addittoniOf-SDap^isBuffident and entirely effeotuaJL

Vestry of the Hamlet of Mile .End Old. Tows, £.

Frwi^ Dr; Wiuaams^. H^ropaUdo EstabHshmsntf Croydom

I am hBspgji to aD&wer^yoor queries relative to the Turkish. Bath in. healtk
and disea8ey.0E>;rat2i«rt in regard to its valaa aa. a hygienic agent in ih»
prev^ontKHi of. d]aaftae> I have been twenty-nina years: in. practice, and of.
that time about thirteen yeaxsri had. the. care of a large Union diatrictand
Union Tnfigmary. I think, therefore, I may fairly claim to have some
practioal knowledge of the subject. I may a4d that for some fourteen yean
I have had. a growing di^Uef in the value of merely drugging the human body,
I do not wish to say, with Macbeth, " throw physic to the dogs," but stiU,
I believe the really beneficial influence of drugs is in a very limiJbed. area;. I

296 [Chap. X.

uBe dmgs as adjuncts to baths, and not baths as extremely rare adjuncts to
drugs, in the prevention and cure of disease. I have nearly wholly relied
upon baths for a few years past.

Heating the body be/ore washing it positirely strengthens it, especially in
delicate people. A great deal of ignorance exists upon the subject in England,
and a very large amount of professional obstruction is, from the want of
practical knowledge of the subject, found even in the medical prof ession itself.

No greater boon could be given to the poor than good hot baths.

From C. E. Tidy, Esq., M.B., M.R.C.S., Medical Officer of Healthy Islington,
Professor of Chemistry and Medical Jurisprudence at the London Hospital,

My opinion is that for all cleansing purposes the ordinary warm bath is
sufficient, but knowing very well that a cold room is a frequently urged
objection to its use by the lower classes, I think it is quite worth while giving
the Turkish Bath a trial.

Further, while I think the Turkish Bath is very useful if occasionally
employed, it is right I should add I consider its frequent use is both unad-
visable and inexpedient.

The Hollies, Cambridge Heath, E.

Erasmus Wilson, Esq., F.R.C.S., F.R.S., &c. Author of the ^^ History and
Revival of the Hot-air Bath into England and its appUcation to the purposes
of Health^'' ^.

I consider a heated but properly ventilated atmosphere of the first import-
ance in every form of in-door bath ; and especially in the case of the warm
bath. The essence of a bath in my opinion is : —

1st. A warm and genial atmosphere ; and 2nd a warm shower under which
ablution may be accomplished ; subsequently cold shower and cooling room.

Mere soaking in warm water is more mischievous than useful ; and the
exercise of the limbs in rubbing the skin, while the warm shower washes
away the exuvice of the skin, is of considerable importance. In reference to
the Turkish Bath, it should be borne in mind that its purpose and medicine
is warmth. Excessive heat would be injurious, and the varied processes of
the Turkish Bath are unnecessary for general use.

I would certainly support every opinion which favoured a modified Turkish
Bath, that is, a hot-air bath, with a current stream of warm water (shower-
room) to rinse off impurities. Trusting that these observations may meet the
objects you have in view.

17, Henrietta Street, W.

Chap. X.] 297

From Ernest Hart, Esq., M.R.C.S., Editor ^* British MedicalJoumal,^^ and
President of the Harveian Medical and Quackett Microscopical Sciences.

I have no doubt that the addition of a Turkish Bath to the establishment
which the Faddington commissioners are about to erect for the benefit of the
poor, would be of very great public value indeed.

They would not .only make bathing a luxury, which could hardly fail to
prove inviting to the unwashed, but they would, I believe, do something,
perhaps a great deal, to lessen intemperance and vice, and to promote the
habits of self-respect, which are a part of morality.

69, Queen Street, W.

From Jabez Hogg, Esq., M.R.C.S.

I can answer your note from a very extended personal knowledge of the
use of the Turkish Bath.

I believe this kind of bath to be of the highest value as a sanitary and
cleansing agent, and for these reasons constantly employ it.

No other bath can in anyway be compared with it for promoting the
healthy action of the skin. This opinion is borne out by every physician
who has made the bath a study ; and while very many persons are convinced
of the importance of the hot bath, and its necessity in maintaining health, a
great number are afraid to use it from a well-founded suspicion that there is
great risk of becoming infected with a loathsome disease, which, in spite of
all precautions, must often be left behind in the bath.

Now, there is no fear of any calamity of the kind occurring in the Tufkish
Bath, and hence its greater popularity with gentlemen.

A Turkish Bath for the middle and working classes would, indeed, be a
boon of great worth, and a very much larger number of persons would resort
to it than now resort to the ordinary hot bath.

I do hope the Faddington vestry will be the first to set so good an example
to the rest of the London parishes. There cannot be a doubt of its being a
step in the right direction.

1, Bedford Square, W.C.

From H. W. Bainbridge, Esq., F.R.C.S., of the Droitwich Brim Baths,

Absence and constant engagements have prevented me replying to your
note of yesterday by this morning's post. I have no hesitation whatever in
answering your inquiries to the best of my ability. The value of a Turkish
Bath and lavatories for the working classes cannot, in my opinion, be sur-
passed or equalled by any other washing establishments.

298 [Chap. X.

As a '^ cleansmg agent '* it is superior to any other bath, for, independent of
dirt with which the poor man^s skin is necessarily loaded, there is also the
excessive secretion to be removed, and in doing this with the Turkish Bath
you can at the same time produce a healthy reaction on the surface, which,
would materially tend to preserve the health of the body. In my opinion^
such a step as your commissioners contemplate would be not only a great
boon to the working man, but would also confer great praise. on those by
whose advise such a step had been undertaken.

Droitwich.

From J. Baxter LANfiUEY, Esq., LLJD., M.R,C.S., &c.

I have had great opportunities of seeing thie Turkish Bai^' at work in
different parts of the country. They are generally well su|^orted by the
higher class of artisans, where the prices are not prohibitory, and I am con-
j&dent would not only be greatly useful, but widely patronized^ by a class to
whom the private Turkish Bath is inaccessible on the ground of expense.

A very moderate reduction secures to the present baliis in the evening a
very large attendance, and if public baths, at still more moderate cost, could
supply Turkish Baths, it woidd be an advantage which I should expect to be
largely used.

The Turkish Baths at present practically exclude women by their higb
prices, and in any public arrangements the female sex should* be especially
provided for.

As a cleansing and sanitary agent, the Turkish Bath' takes the foremosi
place of all appliances I know^

60, lincohi's Inn Fields, W.€.

^■^wT"

From R. M. Willson, Esq., M.R.C.^.5 &c.

I am decidedly of opinion that the addition of the Turkish Bath system to
the baths about to be erected for the working classes will be n:iost beneficial
and much more effectual, as a cleansing means, than the simple warm or hot
baths ; and I also think that many will be indaoMi tovinitthe bathing rooms
for that luxury who would perhaps scarcely think of usaog' the warm batk
only. The Turkish Bath is also well known to act aa^a powerful preventLTe
means against vaiious impeading>di8ord«i<B<

99, Ledbury Road, W.

.Chap. X.] • 299

From E. Fareee YouMa, Esq., M.B.C.S.

Press of work has preyented me answering your letter ere this ; but 1 am
of opinion that the erection of the Turkish Bath with heated layatories, &c.^
would be a great boon to the working classes, for I have been puzzled some-
times in recommending my disperfsary patients and poorer ones the Turkish
Bath (even as a remedial agent, on which 1 look upon it in certain cases with
favour), as I know the difficulty of obtaining one at a cheap rate.

I think the Commissioners would do well in erecting one at the same time
that the baths are erected, as the cost would be less; and, financially, I feel
certain it would pay if properly conducted.

1 should be quite willing to support a resolution, if it was moved in the
vestry, to sanction the Commissioners in erecting one, if they felt any
difficulty in taking upon themselves the responsibility.

10, Delamere Crescent, W.

From T. G. D. Thomas, Esq., M.R.C.S., Medical Officer of Healthy Harlesdon

Deputy Coroner for Central Middlesex,

Your letter, duly received* With: regard to the Turkish Baths, I am of
opinion that as a depnmtivo ageat they would be most useful to. the working
classes if they were attached, to the baths and. washhouae&.

22, St;: Ma^'s Teoace. .

From the late J. B. Walker, Esq., M.R.C.S...

In reply to your letter, I beg to say that my opinion is very favourable to
the use of the Turkish Bath, both in a sanitary and medical point of view.

At the same time^ I think it fihottld.bQ.UBed..will)h.cai]laoii^and be imder the
eye of an experienced man.

17, Clifton Gardens, W.

From R. Epps, Esq., M.R.C.S.

I have much pleasure in stating my opinion of the Turkish Bath, which I
consider to be a valuable addition, if I may say so, to the Materia Medica, it
being, in properly selected cases, a valuable medical aid. I must say,
however, that I have seen bad results often follow • its indiscriminate
employment.

89, Great RufiseU Street, W.C.

300 [Chap. X.

From F. B. Pearse, Esq., F.K.C.S.

There can be no doubt that the hot-air bath is most valuable ; indeed, things
are not complete without it in a sanitary view of the matter ; and if you
could add also, when required, sulphur a^d alkaline vapour baths, it would
be a boon to any locality. Baths are of the greatest importance to the
working classes.

Haverstock HiU, N.W.

From J. Hawkins, Esq., M.R.C.S.

I received your favour, and am of opinion that the hot-air bath, as a
sanitary and cleansing agent, would be decidedly useful ; in some cases it
requires one.

86, Colet Place, E.

From W. S. Britton, Esq., M.R.C.S.

In answer to your applications, I have the highest possible opinions of the
advantages of the Turkish Bath, as a cleansing, sanitary, remedial, and
disinfecting agent, and I am sure the authorities of the parish of Paddington
would deserve well of their fellow men, and the public in general, if they
place this boon within reach of the poorer classes, for I constantly order
the Turkish Bath for my dispensary patients, but the expense prevents them
from availing themselves of its advantages.

The baths should not be free, a sufficient charge should be made to pay
working expenses.

65, Wellington Road, N.W.

From Sanders Stephens, Esq., M.R.C.S.

In reply to your inquiry as to the hot-air bath, Mr. Stephens is decidedly
of opinion that it is of great use as a sanitary and cleansing agent, and that
any scheme for providing baths, &c., for the working classes would not be
perfect without it.

49, Kensington Gardens Square, W.

From Dr. E. Houghton, Weston Lodge, Upper Norwood*

In reply to your communication, (which only reached me yesterday, when
very busy,) respecting the advisability of adding Turkish Baths to the public

Chap. X.] 301

Baths and Washhooses about to be erected for the parish of Faddington, I
haye no hesitation in giving it as my opinion that, provided they are properly
adapted for the purpose had in view, the commissioners will never regret
taking the initiative in showing a good example to other parishes throughout
the country. It must not be forgotten that for such a purpose rapid cleansing
of the person, with as little expense for attendance as possible, is one of the
very first desiderata, and unless this can be accomplished, a great impediment
will exist to obtaining that reasonable profit which ought to be realized
through the addition of Turkish Baths.

I have always looked upon it as very encouraging that the Marylebone
Baths, which are certainly the best public baths in London, are the most
profitable, at least amongst those which otherwise would have to be sup-
ported out of the rates, whilst those which are not remarkable for either
cleanliness or good ventilation, have never been anything else than a constant
source of expense.

From this I infer that want of success in such undertakings arises either
from bad management, high prices, or defective accommodation. I have not
time at present to enter into detail, but I heartily wish success to this effort
to raise the self-respect of the working-classes, by rendering the process of
bathing both cheap and agreeable ; and when the baths are in process of
construction, I shall be happy to give any farther advice in my power to render
them as efficient and as satirfactory as possible in every respect.

From Dr. A. Munroe, Melrose Hydropathic Establishment.

There is nothing like a supply of Turkish Baths for the working classes in
Scotland. I have been doing what I can to popularize the bath, and will still
continue at the work as far as opportunity can be got, because I have the
best of reasons for concluding that the working classes would take advantage
of this bath in preference to all other baths, and get more good from it than
from any other. I find that boys and girls, when properly introduced, take
delight, in the bath.

From Rev. C. H. Spurgeon.

I am afraid the great length of time required for the proper taking of a
Turkish Bath will prevent the working classes using it very extensively.

As to the cleansing nature of the bath there can be no doubt of its extreme
value. I venture to say that no one has ever been clean who has not had a
Turkish Bath.

302 [Chap. X.

Its bealtb-giying influences I am convinced of by experience ; it is, mT>rc-
oyer, one of the greatest of luxuries.
Nightingale Lane, Clapham, S.W.

From Rev. J. Anqus, D.D., Member of the London School Board.

From my knowledge of the Turkish Bath, and from the large Bxperienceof
others, I have no hesitation in saying that it is 'of great value for sanitary
purposes, indeed, a system of public baths would seem to me rery defectiye
without it.

College, Regents Park.

From the late Rev. J. Burns, D.D., LL.D.

I consider the Turkish Bath of the greatest possible restorative vilue, and
in connection with the baths and washhooses, wocdd beef invahutble worth
to the poor.

Church Street Chapel, W.

■*M

From the late Rev. G. Wade Robinson, M.A.

From a somewhat wide experience of the Turkish Bath, I am quite
pursuaded of its invaluable efficacy both in sickness and in health. And I
have no doubt whatever that the working classes, as well as all other classes
have yet to learn both its sanative and therapeutic virtues.

Brighton.

From Rev. H. Ashley, M.A.

I am glad to hear you are trying to have Turkish Baths adopted at the
*^ Baths and Washhouses." A warm bath is a good thing sometimes, but
nothing to be compared to the Turkish Bath, the latter, by perspiring, draws
evil out of the system and relieves it wonderfully, and the washing and
shampooing afterwards removes all. The former does nothing of the kind,
it takes no mischief out of the body, but only washes away what little may
be on the surface.

Woobum.

From Rev. C. Hole, MJL

In reply to your letter asking- my opinion as to the desirability of adding
the Turkish Bath, &c., to the proposed new *< Baths and Washhouses," I

Chap. X.] 303

have no hesitation in saying that I think snch an addition most desirable «
I have the- strongest opinion as to the sanitary advantages of the Turkish
Baths, and earnestly hope that the time may come when it will be deemed
an essential adjunct to every system of baths for the poor, as I believe its
general use by the lower orders calculated to improve their health and
self respect.

We know that personal cleanliness induces cleanly habits, and these, very
often, raise the tone of the whole character

North Cheam House, Surrey.

JFVom Rev. G. Falmeb Lane, M.A.

I cordially approve of your proposal that a Turkish Bath and heated
lavatories should be ddded to the public baths about to be erected in the
parish of Paddington.

From my own experience of the Turkish Bath I can conscientiously bear
testimony to its thorough efficacy as a powerful cleansing and sanitary agent,
and I certainly think that were it brought within the reach of the working
classes it would not fail to prove of immense benefit. When its cleansing
and sanitary powers become more fully known, I feel assured it will be
universally adopted wherever practicable.

Great Gransden.

From Rev. T. Lesset.

I am strongly of opinion that the Commissioners of Baths will be confer-
ing a great boon on the working classes by adding the Turkish Bath and
heated lavatories to the ordinary arrangements.

I should anticipate the very best results from such a liberal and enlightened
policy, and sincerely trust it may be adopted.

98, Hilmarten Road, N.W.

JVom Hei^RY'' Varley, Esq., of the West London 'Tabernacle.

I have strong convietion that the Turkish Bath is an admirable cleansing
and sanitary agent, and most desirable to introduce for the working class.

Personally, I have received much benefit from their use, and continue to
use them. •

Nottmg Hill, W.

304 [Chap. X.

From D. Urquhart, Esq., Author o/" The Pillars of HercuUSy" and the

Introducer of the Bath into England,

In reply to your letter, just received, I have to say that I am very glad to
learn that your local board are desirous to introduce the Turkish Bath to
those they are about to erect. My opinion of their value for those in health
and those suffering from disease, is shown in the toil I have undergone, and
the money I have expended in importing this practice from the East into
Europe, or rather, in restoring it in the West from ancient times.

I would earnestly recommend that yourself or other member of the board
should visit the bath at Colney Hatch, where Dr. Sheppard will, I am sure,
afford yx)u every opportunity of judging of it, also you should visit the
Hammam, 76, Jermyn Street, and take it there. I enclose an order of free
admission for yourself and two friends .

Dr. Sheppard, at Colney Hatch, may perhaps be able to find for you a
paper I drew up for him to submit to the board on the saving of expense by
its means.

I think also that some such paper was printed at the ELamman^ the
secretary there, Mr. Waugh, will know, and furnish you with one.

I would refer you to my »* Manual of the Turkish Bath," but, I believe, it
is momentarily out of print.

Montieux, Yaud, Switzerland.

From James Leath, Esq.

I reply to your favour ; my opinion of the Turkish Bath, as a cleansing and
sanitary agent is, that it is the only bath that thoroughly cleanses the skin.
Homoeopathic Pharmacy, 9, Vere Street, W.

From tlie late G. Dobnbusch, Esq.

In reply to your enquiry as to my opinion of the efficacy of the Turki^ih
Bath, I have much pleasure in stating that I consider it in its warmth and
moisture combined, superior to any other medical agent in cases in which the
skin as well as the mucous membrane, and the respiratory organs, require to
be acted upon, as a detergent and purifier of impurities and obstructions in the
body. In my opinion a Turkish Bath would be an invaluable addition to any
public baths and washhouses. At the same time I wish to throw out a
caution that the habitual indulgence in Turkish Baths, too often repeated for
any length of time, would be debilitating. I also wish to state that persons
who are addicted to the use of intoxicating drinks, or strong tea and coffee,

Chap. X.] 305

and tobacco, affecting the brain, and whose nervous system is shattered,
would not derive the same benefit as persons who are free from those intem-
perate habits.

To remove that, commonly called a cold, which is really only internal heat,
nothing is more efficient than the Turkish Bath, and if one bath is not
sufficient a siBCond or third will remove it if anything can do it. In conclusion
I am fully convinced that the establishment of public baths, including the
Turkish, would greatly promote the public health. The only class who are
likely to suffer in pocket by the extension of public baths and general bathing,
in winter or summer, includes the doctors. They would do less business, but
the people would enjoy so much Qiore permanent health.

Threadneedle Street, E.G.

From G. J. Holtoake, Esq.

As I have taken the trouble to promote the establishment of Turkish Baths
in many parts of the country, and induce Corporations to provide them for
the general use of the working class, I can readily answer your question in
the affirmative. I consider that the Turkish Bath, as a sanitary and cleanslDg
agent, should be placed within the reach of the working class in every town
and district.

20, Cockspur Street.

Fr<yn E. Whitwell, Esq.

I am thankful to be able to say that under God*s blessing, I derived great
good from the three weeks treatment I had under Mr. Metcalfe's prescription,
and the '* Turkish Bath*' was the chief instrument for producing the benefit.

Any arrangement which will give the working classes the opportunity of
partaking of similar benefits, will be an important boon to them, and I shall
be much in^rested in hearing of its success.

Kendal.

From J. EwiNQ Ritchie, Esq.

It IS my opinion that there is nothing more luxurious or more necessary to
health and comfort than a Turkish Bath.

It is to be hoped that the Commissioners may add Turkish Baths to those
they are erecting for the working classes. In our day the comfort and
cleanliness should be placed within the reach, at any rate, of the working
classes .

Hendon. x

306 [Chap- X.

From Frank Weight, Esq.

In reply to yours I have much satisfaction in learning that it is under con-
sideration to add Turkish Baths to the baths and washhouses in Paddington,
for I am of opinion that such an addition will very greatly add to their value. .
I was made a convert to the use of the Turkish bath by personal experience
of its value ; and from being a great sceptic have conie to regard it as one of
the most useful of sanitary appliances, and I now regularly use it as a means
of personal cleanliness in the place of an ordinary worm bath. I shall be glad
to learn the result of the discussion in Paddington, and sincerely hope we
shall not be behind you in Kensington.

Kensington, W.

From the late W. Tweedie, Esq.

My long acquaintance with Turkish Baths enables me to speak in the
highest terms of tiieir utility as a cleansing agency, and I feel assured that
much, very much, disease would be prevented if the poor had it in their
power to use such baths as frequently as I think they would do, if placed
within their reach.

The members of my family, from the youngest to the oldest, use Turkish
Baths, and have done so for fifteen years.

337, Strand.

From George Diblet, Esq.

I am pleased to inform you that the Turkish Bath is a most important
eleansing and sanitary agent, and I consider it highly desirable that the
municipal bodies should have them attached to their baths and washhouses.

Euston Road.

From E. Steinfieu), Esq., J.P., Ex -Mayor of BaUarat East, Victoria.

Your communication is to hand in which you. state that the Commissioners
ef Baths for the parish of Paddington are deliberating on the addition of the
Turkish Bath and heated lavatories to the bath and washhouses they are
about to erect ; and asking my opinion of the Turkish Bath as a cleansing and
sanitary agent, and the desirability of providing the proposed facilities for the
working classes.

In reply, I have the honour to state that the city of Ballarat, colony of
Victoria, Australia, has the Turkish Bath connected with the public bath.

Chap. X.] 307

That a suitable building, with tbc necessary appointments for Turkish Bath
purposes, has been purchased and paid for by the said city council from the
Kxity fund (rate-payers* money). That, whilst the baths have been only about
three years in existence, they have already proved themselves to be repro-
ductive, according to last balance sheet (1872), receipts and expenditure being
^about equal (£800 per annum.) A great number of working men, from the
nature of their occupation are : —

1. Exposed to all kinds of weather during the different seasons of the year.

2. Compelled to work in an unhealthy atmosphere.

3. Or, become impregnated with dusty substances, composed of different
unhealthy ingredients, according to the nature of the occupation.

That, in all such caseSj the Turkish Baths approve themselves as A cleans*
ing and sanitary agent.

It is, therefore, my opinion that the Commissioners of Baths for the parish
of Paddington would confer a great boon on the working men of its parish by
placing within their reach the great benefits of Turkish Baths.

Cannon Street, E.C.

We, the undersigned, have attended the hydropathic treatment under
liir. Metcalfe, 11, Paddington Green, for several years, at intervals, and have
"been greatly benefited in health.

We believe that the establishment of such treatmBut, accessible to the
vrorking classes, would be of incalculable benefit.

Michael Farfiit, i London City
Jamss ByBNS; ^ Mi$8ionarie8f^

HA

i

From R. Hall, Esq., F.S.A,

I have full and entire faith in the efficacy of the Turkish B«th. I think it
^nay be made a very valuable source of health to the many to whom, in
consequence of its cost, it is not available ; and I shall be happy to aid
^any project for giving this blessing to the working classes.

Avenue Villa, 50, Holland Street, Kensington, W.

From George Cruieshank, Esq.

In Teply to your letter I must tell you that I wash in coZ^ water all the
jear round, audit so happens that I have not only wwr used a " Turkish

X 2

308 [Ohap. X.

Bath" but have not even seen one, and, therefore, can give no opinion
respecting it.

I should advise you to consult my friend Dr. Hardwicke, who is the Medical
Inspector of Faddington.

268, Hampstead Road.

From J. Macgregob, Esq., Mernber of the London School Board,

I do not think the Turkish Bath useful in this climate, except when
specially needed medicinally, and that the expense of doing what you
propose, in a manner at all likely to secure custom, will be very great.

Proper hot baths are good, and need only half an hour to be spent ; the
Turkish Bath requires two hours.

Temple, E.C,

From R. Hcnter, Esq., Bridge ofAUan Hydropathic EstahUshmtnt,

In answer to your inquiry regarding the value of a Turkish Bath, with its
accessories of warm water washings, or baths, as a sanitary measure, I have
no hesitation in giving my strongest assurance of its value, while, at thB
same time, it will act as a preventive of disease; and, without especially
intending it, it will prove a valuable aid in curing many common ailments,
such as common colds, rheumatic attacks, &c., as a quiet sweat, taken
periodically, or after a chill, prevents or carries off the material of disease.

The virtue of the Turkish Bath consists in a free perspiration and thorough
washing, and it removes both the material of disease and the cause of bad
tempers.

In erecting a Turkish Bath there is great room for skill in economiang
space and material, besides ventilation and economy in fuel. I have planned
and fitted up two, which gave perfect satisfaction to the extent of fifty per
day, while the fuel required for the hot room and water cost only 6d. per
day, one of these being in constant use in Glasgow for the last ten years',
and is largely frequented ; the charge is Is. The original cost of altering and
fitting up a large kitchen, washing-house, wine cellar, and another room for
dressing, &c., &c., was only about £100. I have the plans still, and they are
at the service of your committee, with more information, if required. As
a contrast, the baths with buildings complete, at this place, have cost
upwards of £3000 ; I mean for the bathing purposes, independent of the
establishment or dwelling. But our baths are, perhaps, the finest in the
kingdom, and were built without regard to expense, fourteen years ago. I
strongly recommend having the baths all over the country for the working

Chap. X.] 309

classes. They will have the original cost in a year in health, poors* rates,
and prevention of crime, in addition to saying many lives. I have in various
forms given or advised hundreds of thousands of them in the course of
twenty-five years' practice. *

Frcm Mr. R. Williams, Cardiff Baths,

In answer to yours, I enclose my pamphlet of notes on the working of this
establishment during the late lessee^s tenancy, together with an apportioned
.account for the same time, and would most strongly advise any gentleman,
or body of gentlemen, who intend opening baths, not to do so unless they
mean to have a Turkish Bath in connexion therewith.

It is simply invaluable, and ought to be the first consideration, and Hot
Water Baths afterwards. If the Turkish Bath is properly conducted, I
know of nothing so conducive to the general health of the community at large.

I could give dozens of instances in which men and women have been kept
off the rates through the means of the Turkish Bath, people who could not
Afford to pay a doctor, but who could, and did, manage to come to the Turkish
Bath, and got cured of various forms of disease, principally rheumatism.

Now, if the Paddington Vestry wish to keep the poor from applying to the
Parish Doctor, let them build Turkish Baths ; and, if there should be a small
loss on the working expenses, they will find that to be more than balanced by
the increased health of the inhabitants; and the consequent decrease in
the number of bona fide working men applying iov parish relief.

I shall be most happy to give you any information you may require, and
once more strongly urge any one wLo thinks of opening baths, that the first
thing to be thought of is a Turkish Bath, at such prices as will enaUe every-
body to derive the benefits of the bath, and I say this after some years' expe-
rience as manager of this company.

JVowMr. John Howe, (he Sheffield Turkish and Pvhlic Baths Company.^ Limited*

I have much 'pleasure in bearing testimony to the benefit to be derived from
he use of the Turkish Bath, both as a cleansmg process, and a preventive
and curative agent in cases of disease.

I believe it to be the greatest boon that can be conferred upon the inhabi-
tants of a poor district ; and that it will contribute most materially to the well
being of the community. I heartily wish you every success in your effort to
obtain the baths for the people.

I may say that several most remarkable cures have been effected at our
Baths in cases of fever, rheumatism, and reputed consumption.'

310 [CiiAr. X.

From Mr. Fhiup Ryder, Oriental Baiks^ Liverpool

In reply to your note of inquiry, relative to the Turkish Bath for the poor,
I beg to state that, in its application as a remedial agent in the treatment
«f disease, it is a priceless boon to humanity.

I have for some years witnessed the advantages of the Turkish Bath as a
great sanitary blessing in maintaining perfect vigour and a healthy conditiorh.
of body.

From J. Constakhite, Turkish^ Raman, and Hydropathic Baths, Manchester^

Yours is to hand. There is no doubt the working classes will use the-
Turkish Bath freely in any large town if they could have them at a moderate?
price.

At this place our Turkish Bath accommodation is limited, the lowest price i&
Is. 6d., and yet the working classes use the Is. 6d. bath pretty freely. There-
can be no doubt as to the superior cleansing properties of the Turkish Bath^

There is a Working Men's Turkish Bath at Sheffield, which is very
extensively patronized.

From Mr. W. Mathewman, The Oriental and General Bath Company ^

Limited, Leeds,

I believe the Turkish Bath is the only bath for sanitary, cleansing purposes
that is effectual, and, if taken regularly by every one, would prevent a great
deal of disease, if not a]i(^ether get rid of it»

From Mr. T. Carruthers, Turkish Baths, Luton,

In reply to yours I have to say that it affords me great pleasure to know
that an effort is being made anywhere to give the working, or any other class,
the means of cleanliness, which I am confident the hot-air bath (and only'
that), is emphatically.

I have had six years experience as an attendant and manager of a hot-air
bath, and am free to say that I know no means of bodily cleanliness that can
be allowed to bear the remotest comparison with it, I believe it to be, also»
an effectual means of protection from the infection of small pox, as well a»
all other infections, and, perhaps, contagious diseases, just because it makes
the body absolutely clean, which no other sort of bathing can accomplish ;
«.€., when the Turkidi Bath is properly applied — ^for, I am sonry to say, it i»
well known that there are Turkish Baths and Turkish Baths*

Chap. X.] 311

I am of opinion, finally, that the working classes cannot be expected nor
relied on in great numbers to use the hot-air bath at a higher £{rice than 6d.t
and I do not think it can be made self-supporting at any lower rate.

From Mr. W. Allison, Secretary of the Manchester and Salford Baths and

laundries Company,

I do not think the popularity of the Turkish Bath with the working classes
is on the increase. My opinion of it, as a cleansing agency, is favourable,
and, if a Turkish Bath could be obtained at as low a rate as a warm bath^
it is probable that a great many more woul4 use it.

From Mr. T. S. Huss, Corporation BatJiSy Derby.

In reply to your letter I am sorry to inform you we have no Turkish Bath
herC) or nearer than Nottingham. I am just now seeking the same informa-
tion for which you ask, that I may bring the subject before our Committee
of Management.

I may say that the many persons, *' strangers,^^ who came here hoping to
find a Turkish Bath, and the disappointment they showed, has convinced me
of its superiority, and has led me to go into the matter.

Corporation Batjis,^ Derby.

From Mr. James Bubns.

In my popular lectures on Physiology^ Hygiene, and Social Reform, I have
always advocated that hot-air baths should be attached to every large factory,
80 that the workpeople could clean themselves and. change their raiment
before they retired to their homes. I have found in my travels that the idea
has been taken up by Town Corporations, viz., Bradford, where I have found
the baths crowded ; at Keighley, the large pile of baths and washhouses,
including Turkish Baths, were not finished at my last visit My opinion is,
that the hot-air bath is of more importance than all other baths aa a cleanser.
It combines the usual forms of ablation and, in addition, sets the excretions
in action, so that any dirt or poison in the pores, with the effete matters
caused by labour, are expelled.

It has been proved that painters using the baths are saved from colic, and
workmen who inhalo or absorb deleterious substances cannot be cleansed with
water alone, but require the hot-air bath and shampoo.

Hoping that Paddington may be blessed with such baths.

Southampton Row^ W.C.

3.12 [Ohap. X.

From Mr. A. Samwell, Turhish Bathe, Leicester.

In reply to your letter of enquiry, I beg to Bay that I have been manager
eight years, during the first four of which it was difficult to pay expenses ;
but, since taking them on my own account, the prioes have been 2s. 6d., Is. 6d.y
and Is., the working classes avaUing themselyes of the opportunity imme-
diately, and now the establishment pays 12 per cent.

I have also been well supported in opening from 5 a.m. to d ajl for 6<L,
without shampooing. There is now formed in Leicester a new ccHBpany, who
are building very superior baths, which are to open in January next, and
which, I expect, will reduce mine to a complete working man's bath.

Frtm Mr. J. Tolley, Oxford Turkish Baths.

In answer to your letter, allow me to say I have had twelve years experi-
ence in the management of Turkish Baths, and, during that time, I have had
numbers of proofs of their value. They are, indeed, invaluable for cleanliness
and improvement in health ; not only so, but they cure almost anything. I
have cured others, and, when ill myself, have cured myself ; and, I think, if
people knew more what the Turkish Bath can do, there would be many more
similar establishments in England than now exist. I have often wondered
that some one does not take the matter up in the London papers.

From Mr. B. Lett, The^ Baihs^ Worcester.

In reply to your inquiry for information on Turkish Baths, I am happy to
give you the little which I can.

1 conclude that if the Paddington Vestry build such baths, the charge for
attendance would not exceed 6d. With regard to the success of the under-
taking I cannot give an opinion, which would depend upon circumstances.
II the medical profession in your district will take the matter up, and
prescribe the use of the baths as a healthful and remedial agent, there is
ittle doubt of success in a commercial point of view.

For my own part, I am very much convinced of the benefits, socially, morally,
and physically, that would result to mankind from the more general use of
the bath.

Chap. X.] 313

From Mr. T, Roberts, Skiptatu

In answer to years, I beg to infcnnn 70a that it is about two years since I
gave np my Turkish Bath, as I could not get sufficiently supported. Perhaps
the population of Skipton was too small. But, after an experience extending
over seren years, I feel convinced if the Turkish Bath cannot command the
support of the working classes, none oilier tmU,

As to the necessity of some cleansing agent to which our thickly populated
townspeople can resort, no one, 'I think, having given the least thought to
the subject, can, for one moment entertain a doubt ; and, for aught I know
to the contrary, no othw appliance can equal the Turkish Bath as a thorough
purifier of the skin.

From Mr. W. LoCK> Turkish Baths, Eton.

In answer to your letter, I am happy to give you all the information I can
respecting the Turkish Bath. I believe it is the finest institution ever
opened. I was in the first established in London. I have always enjoyed
good health, and so have my wife and family.

I believe if the Turkish Bath was more generally used throughout the
country as a cleanser, there would not be so much disease as there is. The
great prejudice which now exists, I have no doubt, will be overcome when
the value of the bath is better known.

From Mr. J. Hastie, Turkish Both, Newcastle^on-Tyne,

In reference to your letter received, respecting a Turkish Bath for the
working classes, I have not a very cheering account to give, as I do not think
the working men yet understand the value of it. If they did, our town of
lifewcastle would have four instead of one ; still, the visitors who do use it
regularly, say they would not, on any account, be without it.

We have three classes. First being 2s. 6d., Second, Is. 6d., and Third, 6d. ;
the different prices enable all classes to avail themselves of a bath suitable to
their means.

I think you will confer a great boon on the inhabitants of your district in
establishing a Turkish Bath for the use of not the working classes aione, but
all will be benefited by them.

314 [Chap. X.

From Mr. W. Chester, Turkish Baths, Southport.

As far as it concerns a thorough cleansbg, there is no bath to compare to
it, and we all know that cleanliness is a great key-note to health.

^-r

From Mr. J. Rose, Southampton,

Haying been connected with Turkish Baths for about eleven years, I can
truly say they are a great boon to any town, I myself having cured bundreda
of cases of illness that have come under my notice, besides having benefited
many others. I have been very successful both with rich and poor, and am
persuaded that if the vestry would add a Turkish Bath to the baths and
washhouses, they would confer a great benefit on the working classes, both
for cleanliness and retaining health.

From Mr. W. H. Gbeen, Common Councilman, Kidderminster.

Your kind letter, inquiring for any information I could give relating to
Turkish Baths, should not have remained unanswered so long, but for my
inability to write, as I am suffering at present from a misfortune which the
•bath cannot reach.

The letter enclosed, which I wrote to one of our local papers, will give yon
my general views on the subject, and from that, and other efforts that I
made of the same nature, I brought about the adoption of the baths by our
corporation.

Upon my solicitation, the whole of our medical faculty signed the reqnisi-
tion to the corporation.

My own experience of the baths began at Worcester. Owing to
rheumatism, I found a benefit from them I could not too highly appreciate.
For that affliction, and also my general health, I. bad previously consulted
Dr. Bell Fletcher, of Birmingham, and others, with little effect.

Whilst going to the Turkish Baths at Worcester and Birmingham, abont
twice a week, for two or three months, I was startled at the various cures
that I saw, and the expressions of gratitude that I heard from those that had
derived benefit from the baths ; and knowing that many suff^revs among the
working classes, that could not afford to go, were in my own midst, I was
determined to agitate the matter, so as to induce the corporation to give the
town the advantage of such a blessing which now exists.

Although some prejudice prevailed, yet, I am pleased to say, that some of

Chap. X.] 315

those who manifested such prejudice have lived to praise the Turkish Bath^
and many are the advantages that would be derived but for such stupid
Ignorance, which retards the progress of many a blessing.

From Mr, W. Gates, Turkic Baths, Rotherham,

I am quite satisfied with my baths, and know that they will do better stilL
It is very cheering to find that they not only pay, but that they do a great
deal of good.

From Mr. £. Mabshall, TurMsh Baths, Bamsley,

I am always glad to push the Turkish Bath, for it is superior to all others.
The benefits derived from it, the delightful feeling after, are so different
from the water or steam ; they all come far short of it. I have stayed in the
bath all night many times, and gone to business in the morning quite fresh
and full of vigour. If you can get a Turkish Bath attached to your baths it
will be a blessing to those who avail themselves of it.

Those who filled our bath, qualified or not, when free, were the poor
weavers. The same men came again and again, night after night, so long
«« it was Ireoi even out of the villages.

From Mr. Geo. Dunn, The Priory, Doncaster,

1 had a Turkish Bath attached to the Stl James' Hospital for numy years,
and found it not only useful in a sanitary point of view, but essential in
many severe cases of neuralgia and rheumatism,-and, in my opinion, no town
or district should be without one.
-Tou axe at liberty to make any use you like of this letter.

From Mr. T. Wallington, Turkish Baths, Plymouth.

In reply to yours I beg to say I have had thirteen years experience as a
sfaampooer and manager in different Turkish Baths in England, and am sorry
to say have tried to induce the working classes in different towns to avail
themselves of the only mode of cleansing their skins, without effect.

316 [Chap. X.

I should very much like to see the working classes take to the baths, for 1
am quite convinced it would be the means of preventing one half of the
sickness we have.

From Mr. J. H. Bbtning, Surrey Turkish Balhs^ Btack/riars Road.

In reply to your letter I beg to state my opinion, which is, as a remedial
agent, and a means of cleansing, there is no bath equal to the Turkish. It
may be given to the youngest infant, or the oldest person, with perfect safety
and great benefit.

As to getting the poor to take the bath, let it be ever so cheap, this must
take time. They, like the rich, have their prejudices, and being uneducated,
you cannot persuade them that it is either necessary or beneficial, therefore,
it makes it a work of time.

When you find prejudice in educated medical men, you cannot wonder that
the. masses should be so.

There is a Turkish Bath in new St. Thomas's Hospital, and they will not
avail themselves of its curative powers ; therefore it is not used, although Dr.
Erasmus Wilson, and Dr. Goulden are both so favourable to its use. There is
no doubt if the vestry should provide a Turkish Bath, and the price of
admission was 6d. that many of the intelligent working men would avail them-
selves of it when it became known, but for the class you want to make the
bath, viz., the very poor, the charge must not be more than 3d. each.

From Mr. W. French, Turkish Baths, Stratford New Toum,

1 would like to see the Turkish Bath adopted by the working man, indeed
all people in England.

I am convinced it would benefit the health of the masses more as a preven-
tive to small-pox/ or any epidemics, fevers, &c., than vaccination, or anything
else ever invented ; but the opposition of a vast number of medical men, from
aelfish motives, must be first overcome, for they, as quietly as possible, hinder
its use as much as they can.

After over 12 years experience as a proprietor, I can say with truth I have
not known one bather of ours to have any of the complaints aforementioned.

Its value in colds, rheumatism, sciatica, gout, and all that family, is well
known to all who seek to know. As Dr. Brereton says, '*it has become a
question, not what the bath will cure, but what it will not*'

Chap. X] 317

Fr<m Mr. J. Johkson, 25, HarrUtfftan Square^ N,W.

I have been in many baths, including Liyerpool, Southampton, two
at Manchester, Southport, Dublin, Brighton, and most of the baths in
London. I was a great sufferer from illness, and in the habit of taking
Turkish Baths very frequently for the last four years. I have better health
than I had for years previously. As to cleanliness, they are perfection itself.

Should you think more of the matter, I could give you a vast amount of
information as to benefits derived from tiie baths, and as to the building of
premises, and would take pleasure in so doing.

From Mr. W. Evans, Hospital/or Throat Diseases, Golden Square.

In reply to your letter, I beg to state that my father has quite given up the
Turkish Bath business.

For some time he left me the entire management of the baths in John
Street. This Hospital then required the house to enlarge their premises, so I
had to give up, and have had very little to do with the business since.

Having the experience of my father, formerly engaged in the .business, I
think it would be well to have Turkish Baths connected with the ordinary
washing baths, and if so connected, I believe, would be well patronized, not
only in London, but in the North of England where the experiment has been
tried at the charge of sixpence. When my father was in Bell Street, Edgware
Boad, I noticed we used to have a great many working men from different
parts of London on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings, when our charge
for a bath was one shilling.

I think if there is any room to spare in the St. Marylebone Bath, it might
be easily converted at a little cost. The idea now is making baths grand, but
the plainer they are, I think, the more effectual.

From Mr. Cubrt, Turkish Baihs, GosweU Road.

Mr. Curry desires me to say that yon cannot do a better thing than build
a Turkish Bath for the working classes.

From Mr. T. Smith, Turkish Baths, City Road.

I will just say that I wish you every success in your efforts to establish
Turkish Baths for the working classes, and I am willing to give you all the

318 [Chap. X.

assiBtance I possibly can, and I think I can prove to any one ihat may call on
me, or to a committee that may be formed to carry ont the above object, that
A good bath can be given to the working classes for 6d.

From Mr. J. P. Prickard, Turkish BaihSy Leicester Square,

Your important letter has only just been handed to me, in consequence of
•our shampooer putting it in his pocket. It is a most important thing that
the working classes should have a Turkish Bath, as they would see if
they only knew the benefits to be derived therefrom.

From Mr. J. BubTON, TurJdsh Baths, Euston Road.

Your letter has partly been overlooked, I am now building a bath entirely
devoted to ladies. I am confident if I had my way in this matter, I would
•compel every person, man, woman, and child, to wash every day. You have
now an Act to compel children to go to school, at the same time compel them
to be clean.

We have spent in draining, sewering, &c,, millions of money, but, still, the
people are dirty. I should like to see every corporation in England adopt the
Turkish Baths.

From Mr. E. Fralet, Turkish Baths, Neath.

In answer to yours, the building of Turkish Baths for the working classes
would, in my humble opinion, be one of the greatest blessiDgs that could
possibly be conferred upon them.

I hope no village or town will be without its bath, and supported to a great
extent by the working man. He is the person who ought to take them most,
AB his health is his capital.

From Mr. T. Atkins, Turkish Baths, Merihyr TydviL

In reply to your letter, I beg to state that after seven years experience, it
is my opinion that if the facilities for using the Turkish Bath at a small charge
was extended to the working classes, it would be extensively used, and I also
think that it Would gr^tly benefit the health of the community, and 1 could,
it necessary, state hundreds of cases in which the baths have proved very
efficacious.

Chap. X.] 319

lYom Mr. T. Qoaklet, Turkish Baths, Belfast.

I am in receipt of your note requiring information as to the adoption of the
Turkish Bath by the Faddington Vestry, and, in reply, beg to state that I am
of opinion it would be one of the greatest boons that could be conferred on the
working classes. But I regret to hare to inform you that though Working
Class Baths are now in operation here about twelve years, yet, so very few
avail themselves of them, that, in fact, they are not worth keeping open^
inasmuch as they are not paying expenses.

The working classes, generally speaking, do not appreciate the bath; at
least, in Belfast they do not to any extent.

From Mr. S. WoRMLi:iaHTON, Roden House, Limerick,

I had better state that my connection with the late Dr. Barter, as sole
partner in the Limerick Bath, for the last thirteen years, and now sole owner,
as well as that of the Waterford Turkish Bath, has furnished me with the
means of observing how the working classes appreciate them when placed
before them in a proper manner and at a reasonable charge. The value of
the Turkish Bath as a cleansing agent cannot be too highly appreciated, for
no invention with water was ever known that could cleanse from the interior
of the pores as the hot-air bath does.

I look on it as the greatest boon to all classes, not only as a curative agent
in cases of illness, but, in its broader sense, as a powerful sanitary pilot that
will bring the working man to consider the health of his home as well as that
of his own person.

From Mr. S. Stolls, Turkish Baths, Lincoln Place, Dublin.

I have been connected, as manager, with the Turkish Baths for the last
twelve years. I find them a first rate cure, especially for the poor, who often
are subject to rheumatism and severe colds ; I think you will find them the
<* poor man's friend." We have had men, women, and children, all cripples,
brought to this bath, and,. after taking them nightly for a fortnight, I have
seen them walk out quite well.

If any of your friends should ever come to Dublin I shall be very happy to
show them the working of the bath. About ten years i^o fourteen lunatics
attended here for experiment for a month. Most of them received relief,
and some I saw myself were quite cured.

I know of no disease that the Turkish Bath cannot cure. If they had b^n
used more frequently in the treatment of small pox, in my opinioi^ it would
not have lasted so long.

320 [Chap. X.

J'rom Mr. T. L. Habvey, Waterford Turkish Bath Company {Limited)^ Waitrford.

In reply to yoar letter, our Turkish Bath is much used as a general
cleanser and purifier of the skin by the middle class, as well as the respectable,
but it is not supplied at a sufficiently low rate to be much used by the lower,
or working classes.

I am quite satisfied that, taken in moderation, the bath is a most valuable
sanitary agent in cleansing and purging the skin, and encouraging a natural
and healthy perspiration, preserving the body in health, and, in cases of
colds, restoring the normal action of the system, and promoting restoration.
In rheumatisim it is most excellent.

The working classes trttf vm the baths if supplied at a low rate.

"Fromi Mr. T. NiCOL, lurldik Baths^ Glasgow,

I will give you my experience, having been about seven years attendant
and proprietor. During the first four years the Turkish Batii was not much
patronized or countenanced by the doctors of Glasgow, but, during the last
three years, I have had a great number of patients from them, and also from
the infirmary, the authorities of which are just now paying cab and baths
for several chronic rheumatic patients, from which number I have seen men
who were not able to walk, but bad to be carried into the bath, able to walk
out from the infirmary upwards of a mile after the first or second bath.
Four baths as a rule h^ve been sufficient for these cases, the success of which
has induced the professional men to now favour the Turkish Bath, and the
public follow suit, so that I have been doing more in Turkish Baths during
the last two years than I did before.

From Mr. W. Fisher, Turkisk Bafhs^ Princes Street^ Edinburgh,

I have very great pleasure in recommending the Turkish Baths to the
public in general. As a cleansing and sanitary agent it is certainly invalu*
able.

From Mr. J. Sutherland, Hydropathic InstittUionf West Campbell Street,

Glasgow.

Your favour to hand.

I cheerfully comply with your request in giving my humble opinion of the
value of bathing as a means of cure and comfort to the physical frame,
personally on myself and family for more than twenty-five years, half of the

Chap. X.] . 321

■,*

above period in the Turkish Bath daily, and during that time have accom-
plished cures in skin diseases from simple eruption to scrofula in the neck
and other portions of the body, rheumatism, acute and chronic, diarrhoea,
indigestion, flatulence, &c.

Those who study the laws of health prize the bath.

The merchant from his counting house, the lawyer from his desk, find it an
excellent substitute for exercise. To the languid and careworn it gives
energy ; to the overwrought citizen, a stimulant. No other thing can be
compared to it.

That the Turkish Bath does not weaken, experience has proved beyond
doubt, and the day is coming when its value will be acknowledged by the
faculty; and the public, more alive to its benefits, would take their motto from
Shakfi^>eare, ^< Throw physic to the dogs," with this addition, ^^Take the
Turkish Bath."

From, Mr. T. Edmonson, Wwdmaen Bath.

I am quite satisfied in my own mind that if the working classes had the
Turkish Bath at a cheap rate it would be a great benefit to their health.
There is no doubt that keeping the skin in proper order is one of the greatest
blessings that people can have; I believe that there are many complaints
brought on by the skin not being able to do its work, with the pores all being
clogged up, whereas if they could get the Turkish Bath it might throw off
many a complaint. I hope before many years go round there will be a
Turkish Bath in every village in England. Hydropathy is still on the increase.

From Mr. T. ^wnsi^ Beiddk Spa, Upper Norwood.

In replying briefiy to your communication I would state that, if I gave yon
the result of twelve months* experience, I must fill sheets with interesting
cases inured, or greatly relieved, by the Turkish Bath.

As a blood purifier and preventive of disease, I have the highest opinion
of it. 1 have seen the complexion of a lady completely changed under its
use, to the astonishment of the visitors in the house ; also, a new head of
hair has crowned its daily use. I believe it to be an eradicator of most
hereditary diseases, and that it puts the human organism in the best possible
position for resisting every invader in the way of disease.

Turkish Baths for the working classes must be a great boon in Faddington,
and would only be the forerunner of the same being established in other
districts.

322 [C

TBE POLLOWnra TSSTIICOHIALS WEBB PBBSBHTSD TO TSB
SXDDBBXnrSTBB IiOCAIi ATJTHOBITIBS IH FAVOX7B OP
THB XUBKZ8H BATHS BEOra* EBECTED OH THB BATHS*
70B THB LABOUBIHO CLASSES.

From David Corbet, M.R.C.a, L.M., L.S.A., Medical Officer o/BedUh.

I hare been in tbe habit of recommending my patients of a gouty or
ybemnatic diathesis a Tnrkiah Bath, at least twice a week, and I haTe always
found, when they have regukrly followed it np, that their health has become
greatly improved. To the ** seedy '* msn, whether from over-work or free
living, I have fomid no restoratire like the Toridah Bath.

Kidderminster, March 8th, 1876.

From Wtf. Boden, M.D., A.M., FeUow of the Royal Medical and Cldrurgical

Society, London,

I am of opinion that the Turkish Bath is a remediable means of great
power and value in many cases of serious disease. There are, doubtless,,
forms of disease, on the other hand, in which proper advice should be sought
before its use. There are also numerous cases of less serious import in which
this bath may be used by the public at large with great benefit ; and it is
well therefore, that in all large communities the authorities should provide-
the working, and struggling middle classes, with such a sanitary auxiliary
at oi moderate a rate a$ possible, having regard more to the general welfare
than to the mere pecuniary profit.

The upper classes, and those who use the bath as. a luxury, should never-
theless aid the undertaking by paying the reasonable costs of the bath.

Momingside, Kidderminster, March 18th, 1876.

From Samuel StRETTON, M.R.C.S., London, Jt?., Hon. Surgeoti to ike Kidder-^

minster Infirmary,

Although few d my patients may have taken advantage of our local
Turkish Bath, my opinion as to its great benefit remains unchanged. In
addition to its value as a curative agent, I look upon the bath as a healthful
luxury to all those who are able to enjoy it.

March 2nd, 1876.

Chap. X.] 323

From E. H. Addenbrooke, M.R.C.S., London^ Sfc, Hon. Surgeon to the

Kidderminster Infirmary,

1 hope in any new arrangements that may be contemplated in connection
with the baths, that the prices of admission to the Turkish Baths will not
prevent their being available at stated times for the working classes, as well
as for the more wealthy.

The Turkish Bath is not only a great luxury, if properly carried out, but
also is of great assistance in the treatment of some diseases and in the pre ven^^
tion.of others.

Kidderminster, March 3rd, 1876.

i^Vom John Hillman, Senior Hon, Surgeon to (he Kidderminster Infirmary,

The Turkish Baths are, in my opinion, a great boon to the inhabitants of
Eiddermmster.

Several of my patients, suffering from gout, rheumatism, congestion of the
internal organs, &c.,,have derived the greatest relief from their use. If the
charges for the baths could be reduced a Uttle, I think they would be much
more extensively used ; they are, in my opinion, too high for the middle and
working classes.

30, Mill Street, Kidderminster. Mirch 29th, 1876.

J'rom M. CowEN, M.R.C.S.E., & L.M.

I have recommended patients of mine, suffering from various complaints, to
the Turkish Baths, and in every case they experienced great benefit. I
therefore have no hesitation in recommending them to the public as a
preventive, and an important auxUiary in the cure of disease.

Kidderminster.

The foregoing letters are« to say the leasts an evidence of the
interest taken in bathing. Fifteen years ago it would have been
difficult to obtain the expression of one half the sentiment^ and

Y 2

324 [Chap. X.

it is encouraging to find such a change in the feelings of the
*^ upper ten thousand " respecting bathing as a sanitary agent.

Although some of the correspondents may not approve of the
hot-air bath being added to the baths and washhouses, yet they
all believe in the necessity of baths for the people.

I may observe that the whole of the late Ministry were written
to^ and^ with the exception of Earl Carlingford and the Bight
Hon. A. S. Ayrton, they declined to give an opinion. The Hon.
A. S. Ayrton thinks the Turkish Bath should not be administered
except under the supervision of medical men ; but it is proverbial
that this gentleman must say something odd, and he replies in
the usual pedantic style for which he was famed when in officp.
We assume all establishments to be conducted by qualified
persons, and it is rather a reflection on their intelligence if it
18 thought necessary that every bather should have his pulse
felt by a medical man before taking the bath ; a practice not
only inconvenient, but one that experience has proved un-
necessary. The Turkish Bath is fraught with kindness and not
danger to animal life, and besides, the information sought was
for warm lavatories^ and not an opinion of the medical efficacy of
the Turkish Bath.

G. Cruikshank, Esq. This eminent artist, I am sorry to observe,
says he has never had a Turkish Bath. '* It is never too late to
mend," and even in his latter days it is quite possible he might
add to his fame if he witnessed its surprising remedial effects — for
instance, it is not unusual for some individuals to be carried into
the hot room, helplessly inebriated, and others suffering from
Bheumatism, and after undergoing the bath processes, the one
would be sober and the other able to walk out without assistance.
As they were before going into the bath, and as they are after
leaving the bath, might form good subjects for his genius.

With regard to the letters from medical men generally they
may be considered highly favourable, but Drs. Watson, Parkes,
Sir W. W. Gull, T. King Chambers, Andrew Clarke, Burrows

Chap. X.] 325

Sieveklngy C. B. Williams^ Ballard, Bristowe and Nicholas^ all
agree upon the medical efficacj of the Turkish Bath, but add
some remarks which are scarcely worth noticiDg. Their queries
are thoroughly exhausted in the chapters on ^' Economics^ and
Warm Water versus Hot Air," and need no comment here. •

It must be admitted there is a tentativeness and lukewarm-
ness about the communications from medical officers — they
neither blow hot nor cold, and are apparently afraid to speak out
their minds ; this some readers will wonder at, but those who
have had experience in the management of Local Self Govern-
ments will perfectly understand. Every officer finds it necessary
for the sake of ease and comfort with his masters to exercise
a kind of prudent diplomacy in the discharge of his duties.

The mental composition of the members of Local' Boards are
so constituted as to embrace an infinite variety of opinions,
and, however absurd some of these may be, their officers deem it
wise not to intrude their own opinions too much on the Board>.
or their situations might be in danger.

It is lamentable to find from experience that there is a good
deal of friction and party feeling exhibited by our Local Boards in
general, and in many cases to the great injury of the management
of their affiiirs. It is an absolute fact that officers wishing to retain
their position with any degree of peace, it is desirable they should!!,
hold no opinions but simply do as they are bid by the Boards
hence the same reticence is observable in all public communica-
tions from the highest to the lowest officer.

Notwithstanding, the letters from the medical officers, when
closely analysed, disclose evidence decidedly in favour of the
Turkish Bath as a therapeutic agent.

Letters were sent to Inspectors of Nuisances, and the replies
received, I regret to say, reflect neither credit in their com-
position nor intelligent knowledge of their duties, consequently.-
they are not published.

I hope to be pardoned for observing that I think the time has

326 [Chap. X.

arrived when the educational standard of our inspectors of
nuisances should be raised, in fact there should be an educational
qualification enacted by Parliament. I have had some painful
experience of the general inefliciency of inspectors in the dis-
charge of their delicate duties, and it is really important that they
should be gentlemen possessed with as much prudence^ discretion
and intelligence^ as medical officers.

827

INDEX.

'^'<m^ —

Adulteration of intoxicating drink 265
Air, the importance of abundance 192
Alcohol, Professor Miller on ...244

Alcohor injurious 245

Alcoholas food ... • 246

Alcohol will not fortify against

cold 252

Alcohol, opinions of medical men

as medicine 265

Alcohol not a natural drink ...266
Alcohol, Modification of the views

of medical men on 267

Alcoholic beverages, arguments

against 246

Alcoholic drinks in the Arctic

Beg^ions ... ... ... ... 251

Antiquity of the Bath ]09

Ashton-under-Lyne Baths ... 63
Baines, £d., on moderate drinking 248
Balbimie, Dr., on perspiration ... 190

Bamsley Baths 85

barter. Dr., Introduction of the

Turkish Bath ... 102

Barter, Dr., on Turkish Bath in

lunacy cases 191

Bath Act passed 11

JBath Act amended 12

JBath for sanitary purposes ... 128

Bath preserves health 133

Bathing a human instinct ... 120

Bathing in rivers and ponds ... 140

•*•

.«•

PAQB

Bathing more essential in Winter

thaot Summer ... ,^ ... 163
Baths, The rise and progress of ... I
Baths, Liverpool Coiforation •••
Baths, Glass Houbo Yard
Baths, GK>ulst(xi Square ...
Baths, George Street, Euston

Square

Baths and Washhouses erected on

the Bates

Baths kno?m to the Ancients
Baths in Ireland ...

Baths in Bussia

Baths in Japan

Baths in Tartary

Baths in China

Baths in New Zealand ...
Baths wotild lessen poor rates
Bermondsey Public Baths

BilstonBaths

Birmingham Baths

Blackburn Baths ...

Both, Dr., on diseases produced by

alcohol ^1

Bradford Baths ..* 86

Bradford Corporation Baths ... 167
Brereton, Dr., opinion on Turkish

Bath 133

Brighton Baths 80

Bristol Baths 59

Br.'stow, Dr., on Turk'sh » f.tlui ... 184

3

... 4
... 6

9

23
105
112
... 114
... 115
... 118
... 119
... 120
193
31
77
1
64

...

*••

828

INDBX*

PAGB

Bnckingham, Mr. J. Silk, Bath

BUI introduced 9

Bnclmill, Dr., on the txeatment of

mebriates 262

Buns, Bev. Dawson, on drinking 240
Bums, Bev. Dawson, strong drink

retards Christianity 243

Bury Baths 66

Canterbury 61

CapabiUtiesoftheBaih 164

Cardiff Baths 68

Carpenter, Dr., on heated atmos-
phere ••• .«• ••• ••• 1*1

Caxpenter« Dr., on perspiration ... 189
Charges sandaonai by the Act »•• 14

Chester Baths ... 49

Chinese system of paying to

advice 180

Christie, Jhif on habltnal dnmk-

ards ... ..• •«• ••• mV^
Clarke, Dr., deseriptkn of a

BnssianBath 116

Clarke, Dr., on th» benefits £com

Baths ••• ..t •»• ... 117
Clergymen, Memorial from lonr*

teen thousand 243

Cold Bath ought not to bo taken 123
Comforts of the Hot-air Bath ... 137
Condition ... ... ... ... 148

Convocation of the English Chnxoh

on intemperance 243

Coombe, Dr., on Turkish Bath ... 133
Cooper, Sir Astley, on cold water 230
Cooper, Sir Astley, on Alcohol ... 241
Counties in which the Baths and

Washhonses Aot have not. been

adopted 90

Coventry Baths ... ... ... 83

Croydon Baths 79

Cummins, Dr., on Dry Air ... 129
Daih^ Newt on Goulfiton Square

jDSbllS ... ••• ... ... 7

Decorations • .,. 154

PASS

Delirium Tremens 264

Derby Baths 62

Dewsbury Baths 86

Difficulties in ordering Tnxkish

Baths ... ••. ... ... 197

Dipsomania 23^

Dipsomania, Dr. A. Peddie on ... 263
Dipsomania, Treatment of ... 268

Dipsomania, Hydropathie tieat-

mmt of ... ... ... ... 270

Disadvantages of warm water

bathing 13d

Discomfits of the present bathing

system ... ... 161

Donovan, Mrs., opinion of Turk-
ish Baths 132

Drink, Strong effects of 23a

Drink, Effects of excesses in ... 241
Drinking conduces to fevers ... 242
Drinking, the curse of England... 242

Drinking customs... ^ 253

Drunkards' Register .». ... 26a

Drunkards, Habitual 23S

Drunkenness, influenoes for the

suppression 271

Dublin, Beoorder o^ evidence

before Parliamentary Committee 23d

Durham Baths 64

Eastern Hammam ... .«. Ill

£ehOf The, on Local Board of

xieaiMi ... ••• ••• ••• Xw

Economics ofthe Hot-air Bath ... 151
Edinburgh, Condition of the City of 237
Ellis, Mr., on Chinese Baths ... 119
Estimate for building Turkish

Baths 162

Estimate of the cost of bathing

1000 persons 157

Fallacy of bathing when the body

is hot 139

Fines, &c., for drunkenness ... 257
Forbes, Dr. Wm., on Steam

Baths 107

IIYDEX.

829

PAQB

Gateshead Baths 55

Glasgow Baths 89

Goodman, Dr. John, on Water

r«r«»« Alcohol 269

GoBse, Dr., on perspiration ... 190

Grantham Baths 72

Green, W. H., on Turkish Baths.. 155
Grey, Sir G., Public Baths and

WashhoQSesBill 11

Gutter Children 181

Habitual drunkards, Report of

Parliamentary Committee on . . 233
Habitual drunkards. Treatment of,

in America 259

Habitual drunkards, Objection to

legislation on 261

Habitual drunkards, legislation

necessary 263

Hanley Baths 78

Health 200

Hospital relief a sham and a &rc6 179
Hospitals, Evils attending ... 172

Hospitals, increase of out-patients 173
Hospitals, a weakness and disgrace 176
HoQ>ita]8, Absence of Turkish

Baths in... ... 196

Hot-air

••• ' ...

•••

129

Hot-air Bath gradually receiving

the attention of medical men ... 184
Hot-air Baths, Advantages of ... 132
Hot-air Baths, Comforts of ... 137
Hot-air Baths can be used at all

seasons ... ••. ... ,., 138
Hot-air Baths, financial advan-
tages of 151

Hot-air Baths used more in winter

than summer 159

Hot-air vtraus Warm Water

Baths 126

Howard, Dr., on Turkish Baths... 186

Hull Baths 87

Hydropathic treatment of Dipao-
niania 270

PAaa
Inebriates require to be treated

kindly • ... 265'

Inebriety and insanity 264

Inoculation for small-pox 210

Japanese Baths ., 119

Jenner, Dr., on cow-pox 212

Kidderminster Baths ' 84

Kingsley, Late Canon, on the want
of baths ... ... ... ... 1^

Lamb, Dr., on moderate drinking 249

Liebig on cold water 250

Liverpool Baths ... 6&

Local Government Board, Letter
from ... ... ... ... 21

London, Bishop of, Petition to the

House of Lords IQ

Luton Baths 48

Haodesfield Baths 60

Mahomed's Baths at Brighton ... 106

Maidstone Baths 62

Malaire prevented... 149

Manisty's, Judge, remarks on sen-
tencing John MeKenna ... 239
Manisty, Judge, on drunkenness.. 240

Mansfield Baths 73

Mapother, Dr., on Turkish Baths 18ft
Mary lebone Public Baths ... 26

Medical relief, Increased demand
*or ... ... ... ,,, 174

Medical oharity leads to depend-
ence 174

Medical men do not use the bath

in hospitals 183

Merits of Hot-air Bath 127

Metropolitan Lethargy 47

Mexico, The form of Bath in ... 114
Miller, Professor, on alcohol ... 244
Miller, Professor, on alcohol as

food 24((

Miller, Professor, on alcoholic

stimulants and overwork ... 24^
Millinger, Dr., on Turkish Baths
amongst the poor in Turkey ... 19&

830

INDEX.

PAGE

Moderate drinkers... 245

Moderate drinking caused by un-
healthy occupations 251

Moist and dry air, Effects of ... 130

Newbury Baths ... 45

Newcastle-on-Tyne Baths ... 75

New York Vapour Bath Co. ... 108

Nottingham Baths 74

Oldham Baths 69

Operation of the Bath Act ... 12

Origin of Baths 110

Osborne, Lord Sydney, on Gutter

Children 181

Paddington PubUo Baths ... 37
Parish, Dr., on Turkish Bath ... 270
Parliamentary Committee on
habitual drunkards. Recom-
mendation 259

Peddie, Dr. A., on the treatment

ofDipsoinania 256

Penn, Wm., the founder of Pensyl-
vania, on the American Indians 113

People's Bath, Cork 162

Personal motive for improving the

condition of the poor 183

Physical deterioration among

crowded populations 127

Plymouth Baths 53

Poplar Public Baths 29

Preston Baths 70

Prevention* better than cure ... 182

Primitive Baths ... 112

Proposal to add Hot-a!r Baths to

Baths ana 1i\ ashhouses ... 21

Provincial Baths and Washhouses 44
Bemedics suggested for habitual

drunkards 257

Bichardson, Dr., on moderate

drinking 247

Bochdale Baths ... ... ... 70

Boman Baths 110

Roman ThermsB 147

Royston, Dr., on Turkish Bathe... 187

PAOR

Russian Baths ... 15

St. Margaret and St. John's Public

jDacns ... ... ... •*. ^o

St. James', Westminster, Public

xjaUi ... ... ... ••• £9

St. Giles-in-the-Fields and St.

George's, Bloomsbury« Public

Baths 31

St. George*^, Hanover Square,

Public Biths ... 32

St. Martins-in-the-Fields Public

Baths ... ... ... ... 34

St. Pancras Public Baths ... 35

Sanitary Science, Progress of ... 236
Shampooing not neocessary ... 142

Sheffield Baiths 88

Sheppard, Dr., opinion on the

efficacy of Turkish Baths ... 125
Sheppard, Dr., on sea batitdng ... 139

Skin; The functions of 1

Small-pox 201

Origin of... 201

Progress of ... 202

Brought from Spain 203

In America 203

Chinese records of 203

Development of 204

Dr. Both on predisposition to... 205

Salt; an antiseptic to 205

WhatisP .« 206

Conditions &vouiable 1 3 ... 207

Specifics, inoculation 208

Inoculation in the arm. 209

Buying the 209

Inoculation practised in Eng-
land 210

• Inoculation revived 210

Vaccination introduction ... 211
Dying out wheU cow-pox was

introduced 215

Sources of infection 219

Difficulty in the treatment •«. 225
Forcible removal of patients ... 225

INDEX.

881

PACE

SmaJl-pox— continued,

Homceopaihic treatment ... 225
Homoeopathic and other reme-
dial measures... ... ••• 227

Cream of Tartar in the treatment
of ... ... ... ••• 228

Eose's, Mr., treatment not recog-

nized 229

Hydropathically treated ... 230
Efficacy of wet-sheet pack ... 231
Cured by hydropathy ... ... 232'

Removal of patients unnecessary 233
Object of removing patients ... 234

Stalybridge Baths 71

Stockport Baths ^1

Stockton-on-Tees Baths 56

Summary, Statistical and Finan-
cial, of Metropolitan Baths ^d

Washhouses 91

Summary, Statistical and Finan-
cial, of Provincial Baths and

Washhouses 91

Sunderland Baths ... 57

Swimming Baths ••• 124

Temperature of Turkish Baths ... 135
Thompson, Dr., on fenn^ited

liquors *•• 248

Time saved by the warm lavatory

system ...- ... .^>. ... Ii8

TiineSf The, on preventible diseases 235

Timet, On Local Boards of Health 1 3

Turkish Baths, ratepayers should

advocate the erection ... 156

Pecuniary advantages of ... 158

Used more in winter than

summer 159

Success of at Cork 163

Opening of the People's at Cork 164

Gaining popularity 164

Donovan, Mrs. A., on 166

First in Europe ». ... ... 166

Bradford ... 167

Hanley 168

PAGB

Turkish Baths, Kidderminster ... 169

Stalybridge ^^^

Bemedial agent •• ^71

Bristow, Dr., on 184

Mapother, Dr., on ... ... 185

Howard, Dr., on 186

Boyston, Dr., on 187

Urquhart, Dr., on 187

Objections to ^88

Bemedial value cannot be dis-
puted ^88

Balbimie's opinion 193

Robertson, Dr. C. Lockhart, on

insanity ^^^

Sheppard*s opinion on 192

Cannot give colds 1^^

Creates appetite l^o

Re-introduction of ... ... 101

Improved 102

Opposition to its introduction... 103

The first for tho poor in Ireland 103

Popular in Ireland 104

Introduced into England ..; 104

In Scotland 105

Revival of, on the Continent ... 121

Improved » 121

Necessity for «.• 123

For the working classes ... 126

And Warm Lavatories, versus

ordinary Warm Bath ... 126

Value of, to farm labourers ... 134
In connection with Baths and

Washhouses 135

Time an objection 141

Will elevate the working classes 143
H.M's Inspector of Schools testi-
mony in favour of 144

Recommendations 144

Dr. Thudichum's testimony ... 145

As a curative agent ... ... 145

For the people 146

Increases strength 147

EflEects of, on the Army ... 148

382

INDEX.

PAGB

Tnrkiah Bath Presenres healtH ... 149

Prevents disease 149

Cost of building 152

Estimate for building 153

Saye the poor from misery and

expense 198

Increasing in popularity ... 199
Parish, Dr., on the use of, in
Dipsomania 270

Tynemouth Baths 76

Urquhart, Wra., introduction of
the Turkish Bath into Eng-
land 101

Urquhart, Dr., on the Baths in
Turkey 187

Vaccination 211

Efficacy disputed 212

Liable to produce other diseases 213

Arguments against 214

Not a probable prey entire ... 216

Compulsory 217

Increased consumption 218

Veterinary Surgeons' opinions. ..219

Increases feyers 220

Dr. West on the eyils of ... 220

Imperfectly performed 221.

In the Army 222

Bamley, Dr., on 223

PAGS

Vaccination — continued.

Population has not been sus-
tained since introduced ... 22^
Humboldt on re-yaccination ... 224
Gregory, Dr., opinion ... ... 224

Vaccine matter. Quality of ... 222

Vapour Baths 15

Introduced into England ... 10&

Not popular 10&

Waiting-rooms at London Hos-
pitals I7S

Warm Water Bathing, Disadvan-
tages of 13&

Warm Water Bathers decrease in

Winter 160

Warmth 123

Washington, O., Esq,., on Bathing 109

Water vtfTfiM Alcohol 269

WhitUw, Dr. Charles, on Vapour

Baths 107

Winchester Baths 60

Winslow, Dr. Forbes, evidence
before Parliamentary Committee

• on habitual drunkards 256

Worcester Baths 84

Working of Turkish Baths in con-
nection with Baths and Wash-
houses ... ... ... ... 161

INDEX TO LETTERS.

PAQB

Addenbroke,E.H.,Esq., M.R.O.S. 323

Allison, Mr. W. ..*. 311

Angus, Rev. J., D.D 302

Ashley, Kev. J., M.A 302

Atkins, Mr. T., Merthyr Tydvil 318
Ayrton, Right Hon. A. S., M.P.... 277
Bainbridge, H. W., Esq., F.R.C.S.,
Droitwich 297

PAGE

Ballard, Dr. Thomas, M.R.C.S.... 289
Batohelor, Dr. W., M.L.A.C. ... 279

Bateson, Dr. H 294

Bayes, Dr. William 287

Blackwell, Dr. Elizabeth 290

Bristowe, Dr. J. S., F.R.C.P. ... 292
Bxitton, W. S., Esq., M.R.C.S. ... 390
Bryce, Dr, Charles 28^

INDEX.

888

Bryning, Mr. J. H., Blackfriars
BfOad ... ... ••• ••• 316

Burge, F. J., Esq., M.R.C.8. ... 294

Bums, Late Eev. Jabez, D.D. ... 302

Bums, Mr. James ... 311

Bums, Mr. James 307

Burrows, Dr. G., r.R.C.P. ... 288
Burton, Mr. J., Euston Boad ... 318
Carlingford, Bight Hon. Lord ... 275
Carpenter, Dr. W. B., F.B.S. ... 278
Carruthers, Mr. T., Luton ... 310

Clarke, Dr. J. Lockhart, F.B.S.... 280
Clarke, Dr. Andrew, M.A. ... 288
Chambers, Dr. T. King, F.B.CJ?. 288
Chester, Mr. W., Southport ... 3I4

Coakley, Mr. T., Belfiist 319

Constantine, Mr. J., Manchester 310
Corbet, D., Esq., M.B.C.S. .•• 322
Comer, Dr. M., M.B.C.S. ... 295

Cowen, M., Esq 323

Cronin,Dr. E. ... 282

Cruikshank, George, Esq* ... 307

Cummins, Dr. W. Jackson ... 285
Curry, Mr., GK>8well Boad ... 178

Dibley, George, Esq 306

Dombosch, Late G.» Esq* ... 304

Druiy, Dr. W. V., M.R.LA. ... 283
Dudfield, Dr. T. Qrme, L.B.C.P... 293
Dunn, Mr. G., Doncaster... ... 315

Dunn, Dr. Holt 281

Edmonson, Mr. T., Windermere 321

Epps, B., Esq., M.R.C.a 299

Evans, Mr. W., Hospital, Golden
Square ••• ... ... ... 317

Fergusson, Sir W., Bart., M.D.... 278

Fisher, 3Ir.W., Edinburgh ... 320
Fox, Dr. Telbury, F.R.O.P. ... 286

Fraley, Mr. E., Neath ... ... 318

French, Mr. W., Stratford New
Town ... ... ••. ... 316

Gates, Mr. W., Botherham ... 315
Gibbons, Dr. Septimus, M.R.C.P. 290
Gilpin, Late Charles, Esq., M.P. 277

PAOB

Gosse, Dr. L. A 283

Green, Mr. W, H., Eiddermioster 3l4
Gull, Sir W. W., Bart, M.D. ... 287
Hall, R., Esq., F.S.A. ... ... 307

Hardwicke, Dr. W 290

Hart, Ernest, Esq., M.R.C.S. ... 297

Harvey, Mr. T. L., Waterford ... 320
Hastie, Mr. J., Newcastle-on-
xyne ... ... ... ... oi<s

Hawkins, J., Esq., M.R.C.S. ... 300

HiUman, John, Esq 323

Hogg, Jabez, Esq., M.R.C.S. ... 297

Hole, Rev. C, M.A 302

Houghton, Dr. E., Upper Nor-
wood, S.E. 300

Howe, Mr. J., Sheffield ... ••. 309

Holyoake, G. J., Esq 805

Hughes, T. J„ Esq., M.D. ... 293
Hunter, Dr. R., Bridge of Allan... 308

Huss, Mr. J. S., Derby 31 1'

Iliff, Dr. W. TiflFen, M.R.C.S. ... 294

Johnson, Dr. JSorace 290

Johnson, Mr. J., 25, Harrington

Square 317

Kidd, Dr. J, 287

Einnaird, Lord 275

Itftne, Rev. G. Palmer, M.A. «.< 303
Langley, J. Baxter, Esq., LL.D.,
M.R.C.S*... ... ... ... 298

Lawrence, Right Hon. John,

u.V/.x). ... ... ... ... a/O

Leared, Dr. A., F.R.C.P. ... 278

Leath, James, Esq. 304

Lessey, Rev. T. 303

Lethby, Dr. H. 295

Lett, Mr. B., Worcester 312

Lock, Mr. W., Eton 313

Lord, C, F. J., Esq., M.R.C.S. ... 291
Lytton, Late Right Hon. Lord ... 276
McArthur, A., Esq., M.P. ... 277

McCormack, M. J., Esq., M.P. ... 291

Macgregor, J., Esq 308

Mackenzie, Dr. Morell, M.R.C.P. 279

884

INDEX'.

MacpliersoD, Dr. J.
Marshall, Mr. E., Bamsley
Martin, Sir James B., M.P.
Mathewman, Mr. W., Leeds
Monroe, Dr. A., Melrose...
Murray, Dr. John, M.RC.P.
Neatby, Dr. Thomas
Nichol, Mr. T., Glasgow ..•

Nicholas, Dr

Parfitt, Mr. M

Parkes, Dr. W. E.
Pearce, Dr. C. P., M.R.C.S.
Pearse, F. B., Esq., F.R.C.S.

FAQB

280

315

278

310

301

280

284

320

292

307

279

285

300

Pink, Henry N., Esq., M.R.C.S... 294

Prickard, Mr. J. P. 318

Quain, Dr.R., P.R.8 284

Eadcliffe, Dr. C. B., F.R.O.P. ... 279
Reynolds, Dr. J. R., F.R.C.P. ... 282

. Ritchie, J. Ewing, Esq 305

Roberts, Mr. T., Skipton 813

Robinson, Rev. G. Wade, M.A. ... 302

Roden, W., Esq., M.D

Rose, Mr. J., Southampton
Ryder, Mr. P., liverpool
Samwell, Mr. A., Leicester

Sexton, Dr. G., M.A

Bieveking, Dr. E., F.R.C.P.

Skegg, J. J., M.R.G.S

Smil^, Dr. Wilberforce, L.R.C.P.,

822
314
310
312
285
289
292

&c.

... 282

Smith, Mr. T., City Road ... 317

Sowter, Mr. T., Upper Norwood 321

Spurgeon, Rev. C. H 301

Steinfield, E., Esq., J.P., Ballarat 306
Stephens, Sanders, Esq., M.R.C.S, 300

... 291
... 280
... 30$
... 304
... 303

PAGE

Stevenson, Dr. Thomas, F.R.C.P. 293

Stolls, Mr. M. S., Dublin 319

Stretton, S., Esq., M.R.O.S. ... 322
Sutherland, Mr. J., Glasgow ... 320
Thomas, Thomas D., Esq. ... 290

Thompson, Dr. Henry, F.R.C.P... 284
Tidy, 0. R , Esq., M.B., M.R.C.S. 29S

TUly, S., Esq., F.R.C.S 29a

Tolley, Mr. J., Oxford Zl%

Toulmin,.Dr. A , 281

Tripe, Dr. J. W.

Tuke, Dr. T. H., F.R.C.P.

Tweedie, Late W., Esq. ...

XJrquhart, D., Esq.

Varley, Henry, Esq.

Walker, J. B., Esq., M.R.C.8, ... 290

Wallington, Mr. T., Plymouth ... 315

Watson, Sir Thomas, M.D; ... 277

Wells, T. S., F.R.C.S. 287

Westmacott, Dr. J..G., L.R.O.P.S. 282
Whitmore, Dr. J.,.M.R.C.S. ... 29a

Whitwell, Edwazd, Esq. 305

Willdoson, Dr. J. J. Garth,
F.R.G.S.... ... ,.. ... 284

Williams,' Dr. C. B., F.R.S. ... 280

Williams, Dr., Croydon 295

Williams, Mr. R., Cardiff ... 30O

Willson, R. M., Esq., M.R.C.& ... 298

WilsoD, Erasmus, Esq. ' 29S

Witt,.Dr. Charles,. M.R.CJ>.. ... 28a

WormldghtoB, Mr. S., Linmck 310
Wright, Frank, Esq. ... .., 306

Wyld, Dr. George... ... ... 280

Young, E. Parker, Esq., M.R.C.S. 290

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