§ EARL SPENCER,in rising to call attention to the delay in the action of the Local Government Board after an inquiry made by one of their Inspectors on 21st September, 1889, at East Heddon, Northamptonshire; and to ask when replies will be given (1) to an application made on 20th January, 1890, from the Brixworth Sanitary Authority for sanction to a loan for water supply in East Haddon; (2) to a complaint made on 4th March, 1890, by Mr. Albert Pell, as to alleged default of the Sanitary Authority, said: My Lords, this matter is one in which I feel a very great interest, and I will in a few words explain the circumstances which make it necessary for me to ask the question which I have put upon the Paper. Last August, unfortunately, in a village close to where I live in Northamptonshire, a very violent outbreak of diphtheria took place and a good many lives were lost. Your Lordships will understand how severe the outbreak was when I say that out of a population of something like 500, within three months, from 26 to 30 deaths occurred. The Local Government Board heard of this, and on the 21st September they commenced an inquiry by one of their Inspectors into the cause of the out break. The Inspector stayed there a fortnight and made the most minute inquiries into the matter. The Rural Sanitary Authority were somewhat divided in opinion as to how best to meet this terrible outbreak, but by a majority they did come t) a resolution in favour of draining the parish. When this inquiry, however, took place they found themselves unable to carry out the resolution. There was a considerable minority opposed to the plan of the majority, and the minority made use of 822 the delay, and I cannot blame them for that. The inquiry, which, as I have said, was commenced on the 21st September, lasted about a fortnight, but the Report was not received until the 7th December. That, my Lords, was, I think, a very grave delay in face of the desperate state of things in the village. I endeavoured to expedite the Local Government Board; but, as I say, the Reportonly arrived on the 7th December, no interim Report having been made, as I think there might well have been in the circumstances. No doubt the Report was very elaborate, covering many sheets of paper, and the last excuse made was that it was delayed in consequence of having to be, printed. But what I maintain is that we ought to have had in the face of circumstances such as I have stated some short account of what the Report was to be, in order that the Local Authority might act promptly upon it, whereas by the delay they were prevented from doing anything. The very fact of this Report being expected paralysed the action of the Local Authority. That is the first matter to which I wish to refer, and I should not have referred to it here, but for a repetition of the same delay in the subsequent proceedings. The Rural Sanitary Authority determined to give a water supply to the village, and application was made to the Local Government Board for the necessary authority to obtain a loan for carrying out the project and erecting the new water-works. That application was made on the 20th January. Your Lordships will see how very important it was far the village to get promptly a new water-supply, for I believe there is nothing more likely to cause an outbreak of diphtheria than a bad water-supply. But time went on, and considerable correspondence took place between the Local Government Board and the Local Authority, all of which, as far as I can see, might have been got over in a few days, and to this day we have not had an answer—at least on the 10th June we had received no answer what ever to that application. The consequence was that from the 20th January when we applied until the beginning of June no action could possibly be taken for supplying this place with water. But that is not all. A well-known gentleman, 823 formerly Member of Parliament, Mr. Albert Pell, who took a very strong view as to the action of the Sanitary Authority, wrote to the Local Government Board, to ask whether the Rural Sanitary Authority had not been at fault in the matter. Ho made that application on the 4th March. On the 1st May the Local Government Board officer went down to make inquiry both as to the water supply, and as to the question asked by Mr. Pell as to whether the Rural Sanitary Authority were not in fault. We have heard no more of the matter; down to the 12th June the Board have never received an answer. My Lords, I think this is a very serious matter. The lives of the people in the village were practically in jeopardy, and the remedy was to carry out drain age works and to get a new water supply. There would have been plenty of time between February and now to get the requisite water supply. If the plan proposed was a good one it might have been carried out, or if it was a bad one a batter might have been put forward; but, instead of that, the action of the Local Authority has been paralysed, and nothing can be done pending the inquiry of the Local Government Board. Now, what makes this matter more serious is that after those lives were unfortunately lost last autumn—there were close upon 30 deaths—within the last two weeks a fresh outbreak of diphtheria has taken place, and I have received a telegram from, the vicar this afternoon stating that three lives have been lost from the outbreak. This is attributed by many to the bad condition of water. This, I think your Lordships will agree, is a very serious matter, and I wish, therefore, to call the attention of Her Majesty's Government to it. I am well aware of the great ability of the Permanent Staff in the Local Government Department; I have always found the greatest possible attention paid to any representation I have made to them; but I believe they are entirely over worked; that the amount of business they have now makes it absolutely impossible for them to answer inquiries with the promptitude which is demanded. In a case of this sort where life depends upon the result of the action of the Local Government Board, and where, at all events, the action of the Local Authori- 824 ties is impeded until the Local Government Board inquiry is completed, it is of the greatest consequence that there should not be this enormous delay, but that the greatest promptitude should be shown by the Department. All I can say is that, unless some change takes place, it only points to one thing—that the sooner the Local Government Board give up their functions and hand them over to the County Councils the better for the country. I have thought it right to give the House this full explanation of the matter, for I think it urgently demands the attention of Her Majesty's Government, and I venture now to ask the question of which I have given notice.
LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEYMy Lords, I wish to supplement what the noble Earl has said by adding a few words. I wish to ask him why, having pat down this notice on the Paper as to the complaint of Mr. Albert Pell in regard to the alleged default of the Local Sanitary Authorities, he has not stated what that alleged default is. But, my Lords, the Local Sanitary Authority have been to blame. In 1885 the Chairman of the Sanitary Authority published a statement as to the evil effects which had happened in East Haddon from overcrowding and insanitary state of the cottages, resulting in the breaking out of disease. Their over crowded condition had caused an inquiry to be held by a sub-Committee of the Local Sanitary Authority as much as three years before. In 1885 I went myself to the Brixworth Union, and I found that a number of the houses in East Haddon ought to have been condemned. Here is the Report made by the Local Board's officer—Dr. Bruce Low—and he says that instead of employing proper Inspectors and a proper medical officer they every now and then had an inquiry by a sub committee, which was not as effective, not having the experience and know ledge required. This Report says that the Medical Officer of Health is appointed for the whole area, comprising about 60,000 acres, and a population of about 13,000 inhabitants. Ho receives a salary of £5 per annum, and he is under no obligation to make inspections at all unless he receives notice from the Sanitary Authority, and for the Reports he then makes he receives a guinea. They cut 825 down everything to the lowest possible figure, and I think your Lordships will agree it is impossible to get good work out of a man for £5 a year. The default has been owing to the Chairman of the Board of Guardians and the Sanitary Authority, who, instead of putting the law and the Nuisance Inspector in motion, wrote a complaint in the Fortnightly Review in 1885 putting the blame of these in sanitary cottages in East Haddon on the neighbouring county gentlemen. Since the Report of the sub-committee of the Brixworth Sanitary Authority, about three years before 1885, on an outbreak of fever in East Haddon, nothing has been done to improve or suppress the bad cottages, and it appears, from the Report of the Local Government Inspector of November last, that these over crowded unsanitary cottages are still there. I think the noble Earl is himself partly responsible for what has happened, because he is a neighbour and the patron of the rector of Harlestone, and he could surely have put some pressure upon him to see that he did his duty in this matter. According to the view of the Rector of Harlestone, the noble Earl is to blame as one of the 13 country gentlemen who reside within sight of East Haddon, and none of whom attended the Board of Guardians or the Sanitary Commissioners. Now, my Lords, this Report of the Local Government Board Inspector of November last states that all these cottages in East Haddon, which were complained of by the Chairman of the Board of Guardians, and which I myself saw were unfit to be put in habitation, were all in the same state five years after he wrote his article in the Fortnightly Review, and after the Local Government Board sent down Dr. Parsons in 1885 to inspect. Part of this evil of diptheria does not arise so much from the water supply as from the frightful state of the village privies and cesspools, which are not emptied more than once in two years, instead of once in every six months. We have a state of thing existing in the village which it is impossible should not lead to diphtheria and other illnesses. Then the noble Earl has not suggested where the water-supply is to come from. East Haddon is on a height, and if a water-supply is attainable, it would be impos- 826 sible to get it up there without force-pumps. But, my Lords, if, in the mean time, these recommendations of the Report had been followed out, which the Chairman of the Sanitary Authority ought to have seen were carried out, a great deal of mischief would have been avoided. I think it right to make this explanation in consequence of the discussion which took place five years before without result. I must mention another thing, and that is, that though East Haddon is full of diphtheria, there do not appear to be any cases in the village of Holdenby, owned by Lord Clifden, which was built under the direction of the noble Earl, nor in the village of Brampton, which is owned by the noble Earl, whose cottages are more like villas than ordinary cottages.
THE PAYMASTER GENERAL (The Earl of JERSEY)My Lords, I do not pro pose to follow my noble Friend who has just spoken in his remarks, or rather his attacks, upon the manner in which the Brixworth Union has carried out its duties, because that is not exactly the question which has been asked me, though it would seem from the Report of the Inspector that there are certain matters which might be improved with regard to East Haddon, which is under the control of the Sanitary Authority of that Union. I am not surprised that my noble Friend Earl Spencer has spoken somewhat warmly, because anyone who is aware of the amount of illness that has occurred at East Haddon will agree that the cause of illness should be grappled with at once. There has been no neglect on the part of the Local Government Board. It is true, as has been pointed out, that the attention of the Local Government Board was directed to this outbreak on the 30th August last by a paragraph which appeared in the news papers. They at once wrote to the Sanitary Authority to make inquiries, and the result was that they sent down an inspector on the 21st September to report upon the matter. He furnished his Report on the 5th October. That Report was sent down to the Sanitary Authority on the 6th December; but the delay which elapsed between the time of the furnishing of the Inspector's Report and the issuing of the Report was due, as I am informed, to its rather voluminous nature and to the necessity of its 827 being printed. Then the question which the noble Earl asks me refers to certain letters which were written on the 20th January and the 4th March. On the 20th January the Brixworth Sanitary Authority applied to the Local Government Board for a loan in order to carry out the necessary works for obtaining a water supply to East Haddon. The Board replied at once and asked for particulars. On February 19th, the Board received a plan from the Sanitary Authority, but further particulars were required, and before those particulars were furnished to them, on March 5th, they received a letter from MR. Pell. The Board, there fore, thought it better to have one inspection, instead of having two separate inspections, in the same village. But they were unable to proceed at once in regard to MR. Pell's letter, because, having received intimation of a charge against the Sanitary Authority, they were bound to communicate that charge to that Authority, which they did. They did not receive an answer from the Sanitary Authority until the 7th April. The Board then directed an inquiry to be made on both the points, both as to the water supply and the sewerage. That inquiry was held on the 1st May. After that inquiry was begun, revised estimates had to be made, and those were not received by the Board until the 13th May. The Report is a very difficult one for the Board to come to a decision upon; first of all, on account of the difficulty of supplying the water, because, as has been pointed out, the water would have to be brought down the hill half a mile, and then pumped up again into the village. It also appears that a settlement has not yet been made with regard to the private rights of the owners of the water. Then the question of the sewerage is also a very difficult one, because the position of East Haddon is such that any sewerage scheme would require to provide for no less than four outfalls in order that the sewage might be treated at those outfalls, and as the village only contains about 500 inhabitants the Board had to consider a great deal before authorising so great an expense as those works would entail to be incurred. But I am able to tell the noble Earl that, in the course of two or three days, replies will be received on 828 both those points. It is only fair to the Board to point out that it is Impossible to hold the inspections at the moment they are asked for, because there is only a limited number of Inspectors; and the Board are also bound to consider most carefully any questions involving an outlay of the ratepayers' money. I certainly hope that East Haddon will not be the scene of any such unfortunate outbreak of disease as the last, and that any remedy which may be carried out will prove successful.
THE EARL OF KIMBERLEYI have listened with great attention to the noble Lord's explanation, and I think, although, no doubt, he has stated all that the Local Government Board have told him, it is really no defence at all. It appears from his own statement that the Report was received from the Inspector on the 5th October, and that no answer was sent to the Local Authority until the 7th December. I am bound to say that seems to me a proceeding winch is incapable of being defended in any way whatever—in the case of a serious outbreak of diphtheria in a village to take two months before the complete Report is made. Although I confess that I have always myself received the greatest courtesy in communicating with the Local Government Board, I must say this is a case of the grossest delay. With regard to the second point, I can myself quite see that to carry out a scheme for a better water-supply in a village situated as we are told East Haddon is, is a very difficult matter; but, at the same time, it appears that the inquiry was held early in May. We are now at 14th June, and the noble Earl tells us that nothing has yet been done, though we are told on behalf of the Department that in two or three days, in consequence, I suppose, of my noble Friend's question, a communication will be made to the Rural Sanitary Authority. This is a very serious matter indeed. It is a question not merely of the existence of such an evil, but a danger to life. What confidence can there be felt in a Government Department if its business is con ducted in this manner? Knowing, as I do, a great deal about the Local Government Board, and that the gentlemen who carry it on are exceedingly efficient, I think my noble Friend's explanation, that 829 the Board is under-manned, must be the true one; but, at the same time, I must say that experience teaches me that unless very strong pressure is put upon an Office, no matter what Department it may be, you will find that the regular course of routine will be gone through. It is therefore necessary that strong pressure should be applied where rapidity of action is required, and that the greatest care should be taken that the matter does not go on in the ordinary jog-trot course. Wherever rapidity is necessary pressure can be put on, and in such a case as this it ought to have been put on. I must say that being Chairman of a Board of Guardians, I have myself been constantly in communication with the Local Government Board, and I find that they frequently are a great deal longer in answering letters than is necessary, though I find I can always get an answer by return of post if I write a note privately to the head of the Department. But then I ask myself what has the Department been doing all the time if in the interval an answer comes promptly to me by return of post from the head of it. I can only suppose that the officials will not move out of the ordinary course. And if that is so in my own case what may it be in others, be cause having dime a great deal of business with the Local Government Board I suppose they would naturally pay me greater attention than others might receive. There are grievous complaints of the enormous time Government Departments take in answering letters, and those complaints are often extremely well founded. I would, therefore, press upon the noble Earl either that the Local Government Board should be given extra assistance, or that some pressure should be put upon them when necessary, so that they may act with greater rapidity and with the promptitude which the public has the right to expect from a Government Department.
THE EARL OF JERSEYWith regard to the delay in the Report, I have pointed out that the revised estimates were not received until the 13th May, and it could not therefore have been sent earlier.
THE EARL OF JERSEYHowever, I shall be glad to inform the Local Government Board of the remarks which have been made by the noble Earl.
§ House adjourned at Five o'clock, to Monday next, a quarter before Eleven o'clock.