A Singularly painful and fatal disease, called " Spasmodic or Malignant Cholera," which was first observed in our East India possessions about fifteen years ago, from whence it slowly travelled over the continent of Asia, and visited several nations in the north and west of Europe, made its appearance in England at the latter end of October 1831. It first broke out in Sunderland; and so alarming were the reports of its character and effects, that measures were at once resorted to, in every city and considerable town, to guard against the introduction of this frightful pestilence. With this object, a meeting was convened at Tewkesbury, (as stated in a former number of this publication,) on Nov. 7th. The disease gradually spread during the winter; and early in the spring of 1832 it assumed such a threatening aspect, as to create throughout the kingdom the utmost consternation and dismay.

In accordance with the directions of his majesty's government, and with the recommendation of the central board of health in London, that every precaution should be generally adopted to prevent the spreading of cholera, a public meeting was held at the town-hall, on the 3d of March, 1832, at which it was determined, with a view to secure a healthier and more cleanly state of the streets, lanes and alleys, that the town should be divided into sections, and that each section should be placed under the superintendence of one or more respectable inhabitant. The High-Street was divided into seven sections, Barton-Street into seven, Church-Street into six, and theOldbury into two: thirty-six superintendents were appointed, who were required to visit every alley and court in their respective sections, for the purpose of seeing that the whole were kept perfectly clean; taking care that all mixens, and the blood and filth from slaughter-houses, with every nuisance which could induce contagion, were removed; and ascertaining whether or not the cottages had been recently whitewashed, and were in such a state generally as might be necessary to promote the health of the inhabitants. A local Board of Health, consisting of the following gentlemen, was also formed:—

To this body the superintendents of the different sections, from time to time, made reports of the state of the town ; and as the commissioners of the streets acted in concert with the board of health, many salutary regulations, having for their object the greatest attainable degree of cleanliness, were adopted and enforced.

The town was also divided into seven districts, and a medical gentlemen appointed to each; in order that, in the event of the appearance of cholera, the poor might know to whom they were to apply for assistance. Printed papers were delivered at every house in the parish, containing some plain and salutary rules for the prevention of the disease, describing the usual premonitory symptoms, and furnishing a few simple directions for its treatment, in cases where professional aid could not be instantly obtained.

July 24.—Dr. Lambe reported to the board of health, that a case of spasmodic cholera had occurred at the bottom of Barton Street, and that the patient, whose name was Wilson, was dead. The body was ordered to be interred at eleven o'clock the same night, and the house was immediately fumigated, whitewashed and cleansed. It would be difficult to describe the consternation which this appalling circumstance created in the town; and as another case was reported to have occurred, almost directly afterwards, at the Mythe, the general feeling of alarm in the neighbourhood was of course much heightened. Every thing which could at all tend to alleviate the sufferings of the afflicted, or minister to the comfort and safety of those around them, was promptly resorted to ; and parsimonious feelings were not allowed to counteract the kindlier suggestions of humanity. Proper nurses and attendants, male and female, were engaged; and it was directed that the bedding and clothes, used by cholera patients, should be destroyed immediately after recovery or death, and be replaced or paid for at the public expense.

July 25.—Five tenements, behind Mount Pleasant, at the top of BartonStreet, were taken for the purpose of removing families from houses where the disease prevailed.

Aug. 1.—The medical gentlemen having undertaken to visit all the poor lodging-houses daily, during the past week, it was ordered that, for the future, they should be relieved from this duty ; and a suitable person was appointed to inspect all the receptacles for trampers and poor strangers twice every day, to make regular reports respecting the inmates to the board, and take care that vagrants remained in the town only one night.

Aug. 3.—At a vestry meeting, convened for " determining if any and what powers should be given to the board of health lately constituted for this town by the lords of his majesty's privy council," it was unanimously resolved, that such board should be invested with all the powers and authorities mentioned and set forth in the several orders in council respecting cholera; and that the directors of the poor should pay to Thomas Caddick, esq. the treasurer of the said board, 50l. for expenses already incurred, and 20l. weekly during the continuance of the cholera.

Aug. 20.—The disease having increased to an alarming extent, every measure which could be devised to diminish its influence was constantly resorted to : large fires were nightly made in various parts of the town; pitch barrels were burnt in the neighbourhood of the places where it most prevailed; and the poor were freely supplied with chloride of lime for purifying their dwellings.

Aug. 22.—It having been recommended by government, that burial places should be specially provided for the interment of the bodies of those persons who died of cholera, the directors of the poor, at the request of the board of health, allowed a portion of the garden belonging to the house of industry to be used for that purpose. At night, seven corpses were accordingly conveyed there, and graves having been previously made, the funeral service was performed over the remains of the unfortunate persons, at midnight, by the Rev. Robert Hepworth,—to whom the highest credit is due for the very proper manner in which he regularly fulfilled the arduous duties which on this distressing occasion so frequently devolved upon him.

Aug. 24.—The board of health, almost from its first establishment, had provided nutritious soup for families that were afflicted with cholera ; and a committee was now appointed to raise a subscription for supplying the poor of the parish generally with good beef soup. About 200/. was collected, and a pint of soup and at least a quarter of a pound of beef were given twice a week to every person who required it. Mr. John Edwards, of the Cross Keys Inn, prepared the soup, and delivered it on the production of tickets, which were periodically left at the residences of the poor by a committee of gentlemen. Upwards of 2300 persons partook of the charity, and the weekly cost was about 28l.

Aug. 25.—A large house, in the open part of the Oldbury Field, with a cottage and buildings attached, was taken by the board of health for three years, from the 29th of August, at 352. per-annum, for the purposes of a cholera hospital.

Aug. 30.—At a vestry meeting it was ordered, that the directors of the poojr should pay the sum of 872. 19*. 5d. to the treasurer of the board of health, being the amount which he had advanced to meet the increased expenses ; and also pay to him the further sum of 402. weekly, (instead of 20/. as ordered at a former meeting,) during the continuance of the cholera,. or until the parishioners in vestry should otherwise direct. The meeting also approved of the agreement entered into respecting the cholera hospital; empowered the board of health to furnish it with iron bedsteads, suitable bedding and furniture; and requested the directors of the poor to pay the rent, and exonerate the individuals who had entered into the contract from all further responsibility.

Sept. 5.—A communication having been received by the board from the directors of the poor, expressive of their surprise at the large amount of the bills for medical attendance, and requesting that some plan might be adopted for lessening this portion of the parish expenditure,—the board stipulated to pay three surgeons 52. each weekly, for one month, on condition that they properly attended all cholera patients and persons affected with severe diarrhoea, and furnished them with suitable medicines.

Sept. 13.—The town being declared free from cholera, and no new case having occurred during the preceding four days, a " clean bill of health " was returned from hence to the central board in London. Only three fatal cases happened subsequent to this date.

Oct. 13..—No case of cholera having occurred in the parish for upwards of three weeks, the bailiffs of the borough, at the request of the board of health, appointed this as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God for their deliverance from a pestilence so truly afflicting. The shops were all closed, business was wholly suspended, and the church and dissenting places of worship were remarkably well attended.

In the residence column, in the foregoing list, the letters H. S., C. S. and B.S. mean High, Church, or Barton-Street; and in the employment column, in the case of children or females, the employment given is that of the parent or husband. The first twenty-two persons in the list were buried in the church-yard, near the transept, on a spot which has since been paled in; and the remainder were all buried in the south-east corner of the garden attached to the house of industry.—Some families appeared to be more susceptible of the disease than others, and several deaths might be traced to the eagerness with which the parties had obtained possession of the wearing apparel and bed clothes of such of their relatives as had previously died of cholera. No. 18 was father of 62; No. 30 of 27; and No. 50 of 24. No. 21 was mother of 40; No. 47 of 32; No. 65 of 63 ; No. 43 of 15, and the latter had been married only five days at the time of her death. Nos. 14 and 29 were sisters, and the former was mother of No. 5; Nos. 36 and 52 were also sisters; and No. 54 was uncle to 26. Nos. 41 and 42 were husband and wife; the latter, who was mother of No. 47 and grandmother of No. 32, died within half an hour after her husband. Nos. 3 and 4 were husband and wife; as were also Nos. 31 and 51, and Nos. 57 and 53.—In some cases the disease exhibited itself most awfully sudden, and carried off its victim in a few hours. No. 55 was one of the most melancholy instances : the hapless creature, arrayed in meretricious finery, was parading the streets in a state of intoxication at a late hour one night, and on the succeeding night the grave had closed over her remains!

This frightful disease was principally confined to the humhler classes of society, though individuals in every rank of life were occasionally subject to its baneful influence. The destitute, the filthy and the dissolute, were usually the first to be attacked; and to such of these as were debilitated from previous sickness or intemperance, the disease generally proved fatal.

The surrounding villages were not exempt from the disease; some fatal cases occurred, although it was of course much less prevalent and obdurate in. airy and thinly-peopled districts, than , in the confined and crowded lanes and alleys of the town.

Many of the country people, during the prevalence of the cholera, were deterred from entering the borough, and the markets were consequently thinly attended. Some of the townspeople were induced to leave their homes, with the hopes of finding a less tainted atmosphere ; yet it is due to the respectable part of the inhabitants generally to observe, that they, from first to last, evinced the utmost sympathy for their afflicted neighbours, and not only exhibited a pecuniary liberality worthy of imitation, but constantly exerted their best personal energies in order to alleviate as far as possible the sufferings of the distressed.

While the disorder raged here, divine service was performed in the abbey church daily, and at most of the dissenting chapels every evening, and the number of persons who regularly attended the several places of worship sufficiently indicated that they beheld with no common feeling the effects of this awful visitation.

Many tracts and short pious exhortations were printed and gratuitously given to the poor, by the clergy and others; these kind admonitions were certainly received with much thankfulness at the moment, although the moral and religious duties they inculcated were perhaps in too many instances soon forgotten.

If to this sum be added the expense of coffins, which was paid by the directors of the poor; the value of blankets and articles of furniture, sent from the house of industry ; and the rent of the cholera hospital for three years—it may be calculated that this pestilence increased the parish expenditure nearly 700/.

It would be impossible to state with accuracy the number of cases of malignant cholera which occurred here, in consequence of some of them not being reported to the board of health, and frequently from the difficulty of discriminating severe diarrhoea from cholera cases. Those reported to the board amounted to 158—of which number 76 died and 82 recovered.

In the month of June, 1849, when the Cholera prevailed to a considerable extent at Gloucester, Worcester, and other places in the neighbourhood, precautionay measures were adopted here, in order to arrest its progress, if unhappily it should extend to Tewkesbury. Committees from the towm council, the commissioners of the streets and the guardians of the poor, were appointed as a local board of health: these gentlemen at once directed their attention to daily watering the streets, lanes and courts, and keeping them free from the accumulation of filth; the cottages of the poor were well white-washed and cleansed, in some instances at the public expense; the sewers, drains and water-courses were properly scoured and, repaired where necessary; and piggeries, offensive mixens, and all nuisances which could by possibility endanger the health of the inhabitants, were removed under their direction.

No case of Cholera occurred until near the end of July, and immediately on itsz appearance the Reverand the Vicar, the incumbent of Trinity church, the dissenting ministers, the whole of the surgeons, and many of the respectable tradesman, were added to the board of health, which afterwards met at the town-hall daily, and sometimes more frequently. The town was divided into districts, and the following medical gentlemen were appointed to superintend them:

High Street, with the lanes and courts leading therefrom, the Mythe &c.----Mr. Prior.

Barton street, the Oldbury &c.----Mr. Allard

Church Street, with St.Mary's Lane , Southwick &c.----Dr.Beadle

Each of these officers had another surgeon associated with him, to assist in case of absence or emergency; and it was considered to be the duty of every member of the medical staff to attend instantly to all applications from persons affected with cholera, bowel complaints, or feelings odf sickness.

The first death from cholera occurred on Aug.1, at which time the disease had become very prevalent and alarming; and shortly afterwards the afflicted and destitute poor were gratuitiously supplied with meat, twice every week, by the board of health.

On the 6th of September, the Rev. C.G.Davies, the vicar, and the Rev.F.J.Scott, incumbent of the Trinity church, issued the following notice.

Cholera still continuing amongst us, and in the conviction that God alone can heal us and stay the pestilence, we have thought it good to state that there will be daily service in the Abbey Church, in the morning, at eleven, and in Trinity Church, in the evening, at seven o'clock, until further notice.

On the next day, the mayor, Nathaniel Chandler, Esq. caused the following annoncement to be publicly givenL:--

The Ministers of Religion and the Board of Health having expessed their opinion that a day of solemn Humiliation and Prayer to Almighty God should be appointed, on account of the prevalence of Cholera in this town, and Friday, the 14th instant, having been named as a convenient day, I therefore ernestly recommend to the inhabitants that the shops be closed and business suspended on that day, in order that all persons may have an opportunity of attending Divine Worship.

The recommendation of the chief magistrate was observed in a very proper manner by all classes of the inhabitants; and on no similar occasion had there ever before been so universal a cessation from business, or so general an attendance at the various churches and chapels.

As it now appeared probable that a larger space of ground would be required for the interment of the bodies of those who died of cholera, than could be conveniently be spared from the garden of the union workhouse, where nearly thirty had already been deposited, it was ordered, that a large hole, of great depth, should be sunk there; and from that time the corpses, and in some cases the bedding and wearing apparel of the deceased, were buried therein.

About this period, notwithstanding the utmist care had been to constantly ventilate and cleanse the union workhouse, and all precautionary measures were adopted to guard its inhabitants from any sudden attack of the disease, no fewer than thirty-six of the inmates, out of a population of one hundred, were at one time more or less affected with cholera, or its premonitory symptoms.

The malady began to abate before the end of September; and the last fatal case occurred on the 8th of October, after which day no report was made by the members of the medical board.

The board of health was dissolved on the 12th of October, on which occasion the meeting tendered its best thanks to the medical gentlemen for their assiduous attention during the epidemic

The total numbere of cases of cholera, diarrhoea, &c. reported to the board, was 940; of which, from the greater gravity of the symptoms, 197 were designated cholera. The deaths were 54, including three which were scarcely entitled to be attributed to cholera.

A large proportion ( at least one half ) of the cases were treated according to the plan of Dr. Hawthorne of Liverpool, with highly satisfactory results. These medical gentlemen who did not adhere to the above plan, relied on similar measures--external heat, opium and stimulants. A few cases were treated with salines, as advocated by Dr. Stevens; but the results did not warrant a departure from Dr. Hawthorne's system.

Comptons Alley, Barton Street

Edward Collins

        The first nine corpses were buried in the Abbey church-yard, where those people who died of Cholera in the year 1832 were interred; and the remainder were all buried in the union workhouse garden. The disease commenced in Wilkes's Alley, and the first two persons whose cases proved fatal were near neighbours. No1 was the sister of No10;--No15 was father of 14 and 16;---Nos. 17 and 18 were husband and wife, No15 their son in law, and Nos. 14 and 16 were their grand-children;---Nos. 20 and 21 were brother and sister;---No25 had been employed by the board of health to nurse 24;---No33 was son of 38;---Nos.49 and 50 were brothers, and also nephews to 47;---and Nos.51 and 52 were husband and wife.