Some of my friends tease me and say that I am an extreme “germaphobe” because of my interests in promoting a sanitary environment for the people of England. Yes, it is true that I loathe germs, but if you spent three years doing a careful study of the current conditions, you would be disgusted, too!
After my study of law in London, I became obsessed with the conditions of the poor in the urban areas. After they came to my attention, I could not simply ignore what I knew and had seen, and thus became completely engulfed in finding ways in which they could be improved. After I became a civil servant, I was noticed by many of my superiors for my painstaking work and interest in the investigation of the system of sanitation in Great Britain. I was thus enlisted to become a part of many of the investigatory committees, and soon led many of them. When I became secretary of the Poor Law Commission, my heart went out for the poor working class community when I saw and recorded the many details of their horrific conditions. I put my entire heart and soul into my work for the next three years, and published my results in the Report on the Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain.
Here is my work :)
I found that many of the disease and epidemic were spread directly by the “atmospheric impurities produced by decomposing animal and vegetable substances, by damp and filth, and close overcrowded dwellings [prevailing] amongst the population in every part of the kingdom,” as is quoted from my written report. I proposed, as a result, that the government take measures to constructing a drainage system, removal of discarded trash from the streets, particularly those concentrated by the working class populations, and overall improvement of the supplies of water. I am glad that my germophobic tendencies paved the way for the new sewer systems and piped water system! I believe my obsession led to exactly what I envisioned.
Here is the construction of the Fleet sewer in London,Great Britain; 1854.
This explains SO much. I have always wondered,"What stimulates this relentless drive to pass those health reforms? Humanitarian sentiments? Fears of it affecting middle- and upper-class living conditions?" And then I read the title "My Germaphobe Tendencies" Ahhhh...I see. Well, I can certainly sympathize. When I arrived in India and beheld the uneducated and unmodernized masses, I felt determined to reverse the situation. When one envisions something better and grander, one cannot help but to strive with their whole being to achieve this goal of a improved society.
ReplyDeleteWith my respects,
Lord Dalhousie