HC Deb 11 July 1884 vol 290 cc826-7
DR. CAMERON

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether his attention has been called to the following statement in The Daily Telegraph of Tuesday, 8th July:— On Sunday the water was nearly black and had a most offensive and nauseating odour; and, to add to the disgust of the passengers on board a steamer near Charlton Pier, there was a human body, in an advanced state of decomposition, against the paddle wheels, which it was stated had been floating up and down the stream for two or three days, the watermen refusing the repulsive task of taking it ashore, for the reason that the county justices have abolished the reward of 5s. which was formerly paid for the recovery of drowned bodies; and, whether there is any truth in the statement that on Sunday last a human body in an advanced state of decomposition was floating in the Thames near Charlton Pier, and had been allowed to drift up and down the stream for two or three days?

BARON HENRY DE WORMS

asked the President of the Local Government Board, Whether his attention has been drawn to the following paragraph, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph on the 8th instant:— A Woolwich correspondent writes:—'The condition of the River Thames from Blackwall to Erith is causing much alarm to the riverside population and persons whose business takes them on the water. The attention of the various authorities has been drawn to the subject, and it has been proposed as a temporary expedient to deodorise the sewage at the two great outfalls in Barking Reach. On Sunday the water was nearly black, and had a most offensive and nauseating odour, and, to add to the disgust of the passengers on board a steamer near Charlton Pier, there was a human body in an advanced state of decomposition against the paddlewheels, which it was stated had been floating up and down the stream for two or three days, the watermen refusing the repulsive task of taking it ashore, for the reason that the county justices have abolished the reward of 5s. which was formerly paid for the recovery of drowned bodies; and, whether any, and, if so, what steps will be taken to remedy the evil complained of?

SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT

So far as relates to the question of the human body, the information I have received shows that the report is unfounded. Both the police, the Metropolitan Board, and the Thames Conservancy officers in the district say that nothing of the kind, so far as they know, has occurred. But as to the general question of the condition of the river, the information I have is of a very serious character. The pollution of the river lower down than the mouth of the sewers, about Greenwich, is of a serious character. That has been reported to me by the police, and the report has been forwarded to the Thames Conservancy. The position of that matter is this. Complaint was made of the condition of the Thames with respect to the sewage some time ago to me by the Corporation of London; and, of course, that complaint was forwarded by me to the Metropolitan Board. They denied the allegations, and the matter was so serious, that a Royal Commission was appointed to inquire into the matter. That Commission has been sitting for some time, and the issue between the Corporation of London and the Metropolitan Board is still undecided. The House is aware that a first Report on this matter has been laid on the Table. One material statement in that Report is this—that it was understood that if the outfall was to be allowed where it is, the effluent sewage should be deodorized and purified before being discharged into the river by the Metropolitan Board. To what extent that has been done, or whether any improvement has been made in that matter, I cannot state, but I have addressed a letter to the Metropolitan Board on the subject. I am also in communication with the Royal Commission on the question, and I hope to see them personally upon it. The report they give of the present condition of the river is that it is extremely foul, the water being offensive from the sewage poured into it; and, in my opinion, very immediate and urgent measures ought to be taken to remedy it.