Hide Article Text (OCR)
ERTROPOLITAN VISITING AND RELIEF SSOCIATION, CHOLERA IN THE METROPOLIS. 4. Meeting of the Committee of this Association was held at the Office, No. 4, St. Martin’s place, on Friday, [lth August, 1551—the Eight Rev. the Lord Bishop of London presiding. The meeting was specially called to consider in what manner the Association, through the District Visiting Societies, under the direc tion of the parochial clergy, might, in the present emergency, most effectasily assist the poor. The Committee by no means intend to interfere with or to super sede the measures Which it will be the duty of the parochial and other public authorities to adopt. The Instrict Visiting Societies will be chiefly useful in charitably supplying what the parish officers and sanitary boards necessarily leave deficient. It is of the utmost importance that, at the first appearance of the premonitory symptoms of cholera, the poor should know at once to whom they may go for advice. The minister of the parish and the district visitors under his superintendence are frequently the parties most easily accessible to the parishioners when any sudden distress comes upon them, and the immediate attention which an applicant may receive through them may prevent many ease from becoming fatal. During the prevalence of cholera in 1849, the Association supplied the District Visiting Societies with the means of relieving the poor after the medical officers had left them. Great benefits were con ferred upon them during their convalescence by the prompt supply of clothing, fuel, and nutritious food, and by the friendly edfice and charitable aid afforded to bereaved families. After the official care bestowed upon the patients, came the soothing hands of benevo lence, in the person of the clergyman or the district visitor; and the Committee feel confident that the same kind care will be taken of the metropolitan poor by the several District Visiting Societies, if it should be the will of God that the pestilence should increase in ertent and intensity. The Association will be prepared to cooperate with the clergy and Visiting Societies, by supplying to the full extent the resour that may be placed at its disposal. The annused letter, addressed by the Rector of St. Mary’s, White chapel, to the Secretary of the Association, is seleced from various communications from incumbents of large parishes, and is circu lated as containing very practical and useful suggestions for the present emergency. C. J. LONDON, President. St. tertin’s place, £ ug. ii, ra Rectory, Whitechapsi, August 2, 1852 Riv Den Sir, Those no time in complying with your suggestion, that E should communicate in writing whan I stated in conversation with you yeaterday. I have been watching with anxious interest for decided symptoms of approaching cholera in my poor and densely-peopled district, in order that I might adopt prompt and energetic measures to supply my poor people with the best known remedies for arresting its attack in its first premonitory stage. My long and intimate ac quaintance with the habits of the poorer orders led me, when the last attack of this mysterious disease was expected, and was giving unmistakeable notice of its approach, to see that, unless the poor were enabled to obtain at once, and without any great trouble, the best medicine, many would fall victims to the scourge; and that, while the wife of the poor man who was attacked, or the mother of the poor child, was going about seeking first the relieving officer's order, and then, haring obtained it, endeavouring to get the medi cal officer's attendance, premonitory diarrbea might run on into collapse, and the case became hopelessly serious, and not to be touched by medicine. With this conviction, I obtained from an eminent medical friend, who had attended many hundreds of cases in the 1st yisitation, the best prescription for the premonitory diarrhes. I arranged with a skilful and respectable chemist to supply this medicine to my order, in any quantity, day and night. I distributed, by means of my excellent district visitors (whose visits were doubled during the prevalence of the epidemic), a large number of orders for the medicine, so that the poor knew that, at the shortest notice, they could obtain from these (and if these were absent, at my own house) the best known means of checking the premonstory attack. In this way 60 cases in my part of the parish were instantly helpes soo out of these, as far as we can ascertain, not more than two or three went on into cholera, and ended fatally. The relief afforded to the minds of the poor by the assurance that help could be bad at once, as well as the medicine itself, did, I verily believe, through the Divine blessing, instrumentally save many precious, and, to their dependent families, invalusible. It is only just to the authorities of my parish to state that they have made the most excellent arrangements for meeting promptly all applications for help; but having experienced, during the former visitation, the advantage and blessing of the arrangement which I have mentioned, I have made the same this time, as subsidiary to and to fill up those made by the union, and have already,in a paper greatly circulated in my district, given my flock some suggestions for the preservation of health, and for the avoiding the ascertained or suspected predisposers to disease, as well as the necessity of their not neglecting or disregarding any premonitory symptom. I would only add—and this is a point peculiarly within the pro vince of your admirable association—that, after the attack has passed off, through God’s blessing on the remedies, the poor patient requires something more than medicine. I met only yesterday, as I was starting to St. Paul's, a poor woman well known to me, creep ing languidly slong, scarcely able to walk, and just recovering from a severe attack of premonitory diarrhea. Medicine had done its work, and now food was medicine. I immediately supplied her with an order for a little strengthening food, without which she would in all probability be a long while before she got up to her strength, so as to work, and, would, in her weak state, be more open to a second and perhaps fatal attack. We did the same, as far as we could, in all the cased that occurred in my district, in the last visit of this pestilence. Excuse this hastily written letter, written in the midst of ork; cond believe me, hiv y Dear Si a Sir Tery 61 2. y sincex ete] a y yo ve \ E 3 WHEN LOON CEAME D An niet WETS ake
Newspaper Details
London Morning Post
London, Middlesex, GB
Fri, Sep 29, 1854
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Rebecca S.
USA 16 Feb 2026
Other Publications Near London, Middlesex
Bingleys Journal
Arminian Magazine
London Daily Mail
London Stars and Stripes
London Daily Universal Register
