* THE EARL OF BELMORE, in rising to ask the Under Secretary of State for War what steps it is intended to take to improve the sanitary condition of the Barracks of the Dublin garrison, said: My Lords, this question relates to a matter which is admitted to be of very great importance, and even if there were any doubt upon it, I think the fact that Mr. Stanhope has within the last few weeks thought it his duty to go to Dublin and make a careful inspection of the Barracks would show the importance of this matter. My Lords, although I have put the question in general terms with regard to all the Barracks in Dublin, yet the particular Barracks in which most of these cases of enteric fever have 226 occurred are what are known as the Royal Barracks, the large Barracks near Phœnix Park and very near the river. The River Liffey, although it has been long embanked, at one time was not embanked. It was a tidal river with apparently a considerable amount of shore, and in old times the shore was in a very unsatisfactory and unsanitary condition, as may be found by a Resolution of the Irish House of Commons as far back as the reign of King Charles the 2nd, relating to the unsanitary state of Dublin and the shores of the Liffey. The result of this river (being a tidal river) having been unembanked, was that there was a beach upon both sides of the river. That has now been reclaimed, and it is upon that land that the buildings and streets on both sides now stand. It appears from the Report which my noble Friend near me (Earl Beauchamp) moved for last year that a considerable part of the Royal Barracks are built upon what was originally the shore of the river. My Lords, upon looking over the Report which my noble Friend obtained, I find a very concise and, at the same time, a short account of the Barracks and of what the Commissioners, Sir Charles Cameron and Dr. Grimshaw, did in the way of finding out what was the cause of the enteric fever which had so long prevailed at the Barracks. Before going into that I may say that on comparing the figures I find that between the year 1879 and the year before last (the year down to which the Report goes) there were no less than 65 cases of enteric fever, and of those 65 cases no fewer than 59 arose in the Royal Barracks. Some of those cases were fatal, although, in the majority of them, those who suffered appear to have recovered. Those 59 cases included 227 officers and soldiers, and I think seven female members of the families of either officers or soldiers. My Lords, with regard to the Barracks themselves, they appear to have been built a considerable time ago, although it is not stated when. They consist of a number of squares facing the river. There is a considerable space between them and the river, and as far as I can judge from the map, although I do not remember it from my personal recollection, there is a road running at the front of the Barracks, so that the Barracks themselves are not actually upon the river, and I do not think the river itself can be answerable for the illness that has occurred at these Barracks. Above the Barracks, upon a higher level, is the Arbour Hill Hospital and military prison, and it appears that there are running through the Barrack premises, although to a very slight extent under the Barracks, four sewers or drains, and one of those drains appears to run through the west side of the Barrack premises close to the building, and in that part of the Barracks where it is supposed that most of the cases have occurred, although it appears by the Report that cases did occur sometimes over the whole of the Barracks. As regards the site of the Barracks themselves, I confess that before I looked at this Report I expected to have found that the soil was probably saturated with sewage, as is, I am afraid, very often the case with the houses in Dublin. I find, however, that this is not the case. There are, no doubt, some old drains running through the premises, but those drains have been now pronounced to be perfectly innocuous, and therefore the cause of the infection must be sought elsewhere. There appear, I think, to have been two causes which presented themselves to the minds of the gentleman who made this Report as possible causes of the infection. One is that certain latrines were out of order. They first of all made a preliminary Report, and before they finished their official investigation these had been put in order. But they also found that there were certain ventilators of the sewers, one of which, at any rate, they thought would be a source of danger. They applied the smoke test to one of these ventilators, and they found that 228 when the wind set in a particular direction, whatever sewer gas came out of this ventilator would, in point of fact, go straight into the Barracks. Another matter to which they called attention as a possible source of infection was the milk supply to the men in the Barracks. The milk in Dublin is supplied in winter from cows milked in the dairy yards. These yards are supplied with water which is quite safe. But in the summer time the cows are milked out in the fields, where they drink water which is impure, and Sir Charles Cameron and Dr. Grimshaw seem to think that that is a likely cause of infection. My Lords, I am not going to trouble your Lordships with going over other barracks, but there are two other places in Dublin, besides the Royal Barracks, which I may just refer to. Although it does not appear upon the Report, I understand that the guard-room at the Castle has been found to be in a very unsatisfactory state as regards its sanitary arrangements. This recalls to my mind the fact that about ten years ago there were cases of enteric fever in the houses belonging to officers of the Lord Lieutenant's household. I remember in one case a friend of mine had a member of his family down with fever in a house belonging to the Dean of the Chapel Royal, and I believe there was another house in the yard at which there was also a case of enteric fever. There is one thing which I should like to mention before I sit down, although I only do so with a view of drawing your Lordships' attention to it. I have heard it stated, although I am not prepared to say that I have not heard it denied, that Captain Coddington, of the Royal Engineers, who died last winter, possibly received the infection in a place known as Aldborough House, which is the Ordnance Store, in the east part of Dublin, near the Great Northern Railway. I do not know whether that is the case or not, but this barrack or store was undoubtedly built originally as a private residence for the Earl of Aldborough, and I should imagine that, like all the houses of that period, the drainage was extremely deficient, and probably there was a cesspool under the house. Whether that will be found to be so or not I do not know, but I just call my noble Friend's attention to that point. I have said all now 229 that I think is necessary in explaining my objects in putting this Question.
THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Lord HARRIS)My Lords, with reference to the Question which my noble Friend has put to me, it appears, with regard to the drains from the hospital, that they have been disconnected, and it is believed that they are perfectly safe now. With regard to the latrines, the recommendations of the Cameron-Grimshaw Report have been attended to, and are being carried out. With regard to the guard-rooms, Mr. Stanhope has, within the last few months, obtained the services of Mr. Rogers Field, a well-known sanitary engineer, who has been in Dublin, and who is about to present a Report upon the Royal Barracks and upon the Richmond Bridewell. He has also inspected the guard-rooms both at the Castle and at the Bank. I believe there are insanitary conditions in connection with those two guard-rooms, and the attention of the authorities who have to do with those buildings will be called to the matter. I think in one case it will be the Governor of the Bank, and in the other case the Board of Works. With regard to Aldborough House, I will certainly take a note of what my noble Friend said, but I believe I am justified in saying that, as a matter of fact, Captain Coddington conld not have got the infection at any barrack in Dublin. Mr. Stanhope was so anxious about the state of the Barracks in Dublin, that he determined to get a further Report from a sanitary engineer, in addition to that presented by Sir Charles Cameron and Dr. Grimshaw, and that Report I hope to be able to lay upon the Table of the House in a few days. There has been a very exhaustive examination, not only of the Barracks themselves, but of the subsoil beneath. But as regards the whole question of barrack accommodation in Dublin, I am to state that it has been determined to deal with the matter in a general way in one large scheme, and Mr. Stanhope is not at present prepared to say what the details of that scheme may be. An additional amount of space has been obtained since last year by utilizing Richmond Bridewell for a certain number of troops, and in that way relieving the Royal Barracks, but if the Richmond Bridewell is to be made 230 a permanent barrack that will mean considerable alteration, and the troops who are now there will have to obtain room somewhere else. As regards the work that has been done in the past year, the guard rooms in the Royal Square have been excavated and concreted and ventilated under the boards. The alterations of the latrines have been carried out, and demolitions to improve the circulation of air have been carried out, and about £1,400 have been spent upon them. With regard to the demolitions, I may say at once that the demolitions recommended by the Cameron-Grimshaw Report have been, in the main, approved and carried out, but not exactly in the way that Sir Charles Cameron and Dr. Grimshaw recommended. They recommended that the east and west sides of the Royal Square should be demolished and a part of the west side of the Palatine Square. That has not been carried out, but they are to be disused for troops and to be used for store-houses instead. The demolitions which they recommended at the north-east and north-west corners of the Royal Square will be carried out, and certain demolitions which they did not recommend, but which have been approved now by Mr. Stanhope, on Mr. Roger Field's recommendation, will be carried out at the north-west, the southwest, and the south-east corners of Palatine Square. Palatine Square will then be in very much the same state as the Stable Square, and will have free access of air to all corners. There is a building to the north of Palatine Square, which I believe is in a very unsatisfactory state. Mr. Stanhope examined it on his visit there and has decided that it shall be demolished, and a wall running from it to the north-west corner of Palatine Square will also be taken down and the land will be slanted up. The new barracks at Grangegorman are proceeding as rapidly as possible, and some £16,000 have been taken in the current year's Estimates for expenditure there. The Riding School there will be pushed on as a special service, in order that the Riding School behind the Royal Square may be taken down, the present arrangement being considered by Mr. Stanhope very unsatisfactory, having regard to the building below preventing the free access of air. The ground-floor on the north side of the 231 Royal Square will be used for stores, instead of for troops, as it is now. The demolitions in the passages between the Green Squares have been carried out, as recommended by the Cameron-Grim-shaw Report, and, in addition, the south ends of both passages which were not recommended in the Report; so that there will be now a perfectly free current of air through the passages between the three barracks. At present it is not intended to carry out the demolition in Cavalry Square and in Stable Square; the access of air which is obtained by the demolition of the south end of the passages is considered sufficient in that case. With regard to the work that has to be done in the current year, a sum of £10,000 has been taken for demolitions, re-appropriations, and sanitary improvements at the Royal Barracks, and also a sum of about £1,200 for sanitary services at other barracks in Dublin. With regard to the Richmond Barracks, upon which there is also a Report from Mr. Rogers-Field, £400 is provided for carrying out the subsoil drainage, in addition to the work that has been carried on in the past year, upon which some £700 has been expended. I believe Mr. Stanhope has also in consideration the question of demolition both at Linen Hall and at Ship Street, which he examined himself personally, and about which he thought there were unsanitary conditions which might be improved; but I believe that arrangements upon that particular point have not yet been completed. I may venture to say, with regard to enteric cases from the Dublin garrison, there has been a marked improvement in the last month. I am certainly justified in saying that there has been no case of enteric fever at the Barracks in the last fortnight; and I believe I am justified in saying that there has been no case of enteric fever at the Barracks in the last month.