SURFACE CLEANINGS.
The sanatory reforms which are requisite for rendering London, or any other large city, a place of healthful abode, may be divided into two classes : those which must be effected principally by the public authorities, and those which depend principally upon in- dividual effort. Of the first class, the chief are an ample supply of pure water ; the removal of foul water and of that portion of the refuse which can be conveyed with it ; the opening out of new channels for fresh air through crowded and ill-ventilated localities ; and lastly, the cleansing of the public thoroughfares. Towards the accomplishment of these objects, individual effort can do but little directly; they await the action of society in the mass, and must be done by those who act for society. All of these reforms being of the utmost importance, and all most urgently needed, it is scarcely. possible to say which deserves the earliest attention. As street cleanliness, however, has received less public notice than the others, we begin with that branch of sanatory improvement. The sanatory reforms which are requisite for rendering London, or any other large city, a place of healthful abode, may be divided into two classes : those which must be effected principally by the public authorities, and those which depend principally upon in- dividual effort. Of the first class, the chief are an ample supply of pure water ; the removal of foul water and of that portion of the refuse which can be conveyed with it ; the opening out of new channels for fresh air through crowded and ill-ventilated localities ; and lastly, the cleansing of the public thoroughfares. Towards the accomplishment of these objects, individual effort can do but little directly; they await the action of society in the mass, and must be done by those who act for society. All of these reforms being of the utmost importance, and all most urgently needed, it is scarcely. possible to say which deserves the earliest attention. As street cleanliness, however, has received less public notice than the others, we begin with that branch of sanatory improvement.
At the first glance, street cleanliness may appear of very se- condary importance when compared with the other great objects. A little consideration, however, will show that, in its direct and indirect influences upon the public welfare, its importance is very great. To take the most evident point: it is no trifling evil for the members of a community to be condemned to walk in dirty streets ; for one inevitable effect will be to deter many from taking as much out-door exercise as they would if not subjected to the annoyance of mud, or as much as is desirable for their health and enjoyment. Let those who can appreciate the extent to which delicate health,• especially in women—with its accompanying ner- vousness, fretfulness, weakness, and premature decay—is induced by the want .of exercise in the trash air; estimate the importance of any circumstance which induces any considerable number to avoid walking whenever it is possible. Another very obvious consequence of dirty streets, is their inevitable effect in rendering houses, clothes, and furniture, dirty also. This is both a source of great expense and loss, and also discourages efforts for preserving cleanliness. Almost every Faiglishwoman appears naturally to have a. love of tidiness and cleanliness ; and if she have a fair chance, will do much to preserve her household in a comfort- able and respectable condition. If, however, she find that with all her efforts she cannot overcome the constant influx of dirt, when every one who enters her dwelling brings into it a quantity of mud, or every breeze carries with it a quantity of dust, (as must happen if the streets are dirty,) she is apt to relax her exertions, and to submit to a degree of slovenliness which under happier circum.
stances would be felt to be intolerable. The evil consequences of domestic discomfort who shall estimate ? If a poor man's own fireside be not attractive, he will very likely seek enjoyment elte- where. The tavern, in which he seeks the comfort he ought to have at home, swallows up large portions of his scanty earnings ; which renders his comfortless home still more cheerless. If by means of clean streets without, and an ample supply of water within, we can facilitate domestic cleanliness, (the chief element of domestic comfort,) we shall go far to prevent the growth of vieious habits in the next generation, if we cannot quite overcome them at once. Few physical circumstances would beneficially affect do- mestic morality and happiness more powerfully and directly.
These may be thought self-evident observations ; but are they not almost universally neglected ? Were it not so, we should not remark clean streets as the exception and dirty ones the rule. If the various authorities and the public generally, perceived the real importance of street cleanliness, we should find the parochial and other boards vying with each Other, not in the reduction of the cost of scavenging, but in the promotion of a high state of cleanli- ness ;. while the public would call out as loudly for that improve- ment as they do for improved sewerage and increased water supply.
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