The 1832 Cholera Epidemic in Montreal
As Montreal and Quebec find themselves entering the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the new regulations that come with it, I have been dusting down my old project, A History of Canada by Montreal Metro. By topical coincidence, I found myself looking at the regulations that were put in place during the 1832 cholera epidemic. In some ways these are markedly different to those we face today — it is the rare Montrealer who keeps pigs and livestock today — but the themes are similar: restrictions on personal proximity and invasions of privacy. As with today, it was the poor who suffered the most — those pigs were valuable to the poor and restrictions of number of people sharing a room echo the degree of comfort with which we can work at home today. That said, the epidemic entailed substantial improvements. I believe that it was as a result of the epidemic that cities set up public health boards, free hospitals, and built the closed sewers which modern cities take for granted today. It may even have led to improved building standards. This is a comforting thought: that however upsetting and inconvenient the present pandemic and restrictions may be, it may teach us more about the importance of caring for ourselves and each other.
Here is my original introduction and an edited version of the regulations of 1832.
As early as 1826, the Quebec Medical Journal, Canada’s first, had been discussing how to combat a cholera epidemic. With seventy to eighty thousand immigrants expected in 1832 — three thousand in the first week of June alone — the arrival of disease was inevitable. In February the Legislative Council passed laws “to establish a quarantine station at Grosse Ile and a board of health in Quebec City, with provision to extend the act to Montreal”. The effects of the quarantine station were notorious, but on 12th June, the Montreal Board of Health loosed on the city its sweeping powers and the bureaucracy of the modern public health apparatus.
The Rules and Regulations of the Montreal Board of Health, The Gazette, 12 June 1832.
Chapter Second: Of Cleanliness
2. No person shall keep any hog or hogs in any dwelling-house within the City, Banlieue, or Port of Montreal, nor in any building within twenty feet of such dwelling-house, nor in such a manner as to be offensive to the neighbourhood, or to the passengers in the Streets or Highway; and in no case shall more than two Hogs be kept on the same premises; such Hogs to be kept in a pen or stye. […]
5. All Dead Animals or Offals of Animals shall, within four hours, be removed beyond the Banlieue, and be immediately buried and covered, at least three feet beneath the surrounding surface.
6. All refuse Vegetable Substances shall be removed beyond the Banlieue, on Wednesday and Saturday in each week, in covered carts, to be furnished by the Board of Health, each cart to be provided with a large bell.
7. The Yard of every Premises in the City and Suburbs shall be swept clear of every other substance not abovementioned (excepting stable manure) on every Friday, from the first day of May to the first day of November, and the contents of the sweepings deposited in the Street, at the expense of the occupier or occupiers of such Yard in sufficient time to be removed by the Public Scavengers. And, during the winter, each Yard shall be cleaned at least once a month, and the contents or sweepings deposited on the ice, excepting Stable Manure, at a distance of not less than half a mile from the Shore, and not less than fifty yards from any Public Road. The Public Scavengers shall carry away the contents or sweepings mentioned in this Section in close covered tight vehicles, so that no part of the load shall escape.
8. The Proprietor of every Dwelling-house within the City, Banlieue, and Port of Montreal shall be bound, within one month from the Publication of these Rules and Regulations, to construct a Privy at least six feet deep, for each house so situated, within the yard or premises appertaining thereto. […]
15. Live Horned Cattle, Sheep, Lamb, Goats, Calves, Hogs, or other Animals of a marketable nature, shall be exposed for sale in the Market Place situated in the Main Street of the St Lawrence Suburb, and no where else.
Chapter Third: Of Proprietors, Tenants, Sub Tenants and Occupiers of Houses and Dwellings
1. Every Proprietor of House within the City and Banlieue, who have leased or shall hereafter lease such a House or Building or any part thereof, shall, within ten days after the publication of these Rules and Regulations, give to the Health Warden of the Ward in which such a House or Building is situated, a Statement, in writing, setting forth the names of the Proprietor and Lessee or Lessees, the number of rooms occupied by each Lessee, and the number of persons occupying each room, together with the name of the Street in which such a House or Building is situated and the number of boundaries of such a House or Building, and, on the subsequent change of Tenant or Tenants, the name shall be notified within twenty-four hours after such a change.
2. All Lessees of Houses, who hold the same directly from the Proprietor, shall be held liable for the acts of those persons to whom they may Sub-let.
3. The Tenant or Tenants of any House or Building, holding or leasing the same directly from the Owner, shall be jointly or severally proceeded against for any filth, manure, or nuisance of any description which may be found in the Street, opposite the House or Building occupied by them, or in the Court-yard, Privies, or any such place appertaining to such House or Building, and which may be used in common by the Tenants.
4. All Occupants of Houses shall be bound to scrub or cause to be scrubbed all floors therein, not carpeted or otherwise covered, at least once every week, and the walls and ceilings in each House shall, by the Occupant or Occupants there of, be washed or whitewashed in the spring and autumn of each year; and as much oftener as shall, in particular cases, be deemed necessary by this Board, and within forty-eight hours after notice from the Board to that effect.
5. In no case shall the number of persons lodging and sleeping in any one Tenement exceed the ratio of four persons to a Room of twelve feet square: nor shall any person or persons be allowed to lodge in any cellar or basement story of any House or Dwelling house within the City and Banlieue of Montreal, without permission from the Board of Health. […]
Chapter Sixth: Of the Health Wardens
There shall be thirteen Health Wardens, one to each Ward of the City and Banlieue, as divided by the foregoing Rules and Regulations, who shall respectively be governed by the following Orders and Directions, in the execution of their respective duties.
1. Immediately on the appointment of each Health Warden, or as soon thereafter as possible, he shall receive from the Secretary of the Board, -
Firstly, A certificate of his appointment signed by the Chairman of the Board, for the time being. A copy of these Rules and Regulations, and also such others as may be hereafter adopted. …
Secondly, Immediately on his appointment, he will receive a sign on which will be painted his name and the title of his office, which he shall cause to be affixed in the most conspicuous place on the outside of the house in which he resides. He will also receive a medal or other distinctive badge indicating his office, which he shall always wear in the execution of his duty.
Thirdly, He will immediately make out a list of the houses in his ward, designating the number of each, the name of the street, of the proprietors, and of the tenants or other occupants in each street, the number of apartments in each house, when the same is occupied by different individuals, and by whom each apartment …
Fourthly, He shall cause to be executed by the proper person or persons, and without partiality, the law under authority of which he acts, as well as the Rules and Regulations adopted by the Board, relating to streets and other public places, and without waiting for special directions, he shall denounce all delinquents, that they may undergo the penalties of the law, and, when the case will permit, shall support his accusation by at least one witness.
Fifthly, He shall not inspect any private property before six o’clock in the morning, nor after seven o’clock in the evenings unless he receive special order so to do.
Sixthly, When he proceeds to inspect private property he shall, in the first instance, make himself known as a Health Warden, and request admittance. He shall point out verbally, when necessary, that which is not in conformity with the Regulations of the Board, to whom he shall report accordingly. In the execution of this duty, he shall act with discretion and civility, and shall not extend his researches beyond what is strictly requisite.
Ninthly, Until further orders, he shall visit every house in his Ward or Section, once every week and report his proceedings daily to the Committee of Superintendence, at the Office of the Board of Health, between the hours of three and four o’clock P.M. …
Tweflthly, He shall, when in the performance of his duties, suspend from his neck, by a blue ribbon, the medal or badge which shall be delivered to him, and shall return the same to the Chairman of the Board, whenever he may go out of office. It is also ordered by the Board, that no person except a Health Warden shall wear this distinctive badge, and the Wardens respectively are required to report every individual who may do so without authority.
Thirteenthly, The remuneration of each Warden is fixed at the sum of five shillings per dat, from the period at which he may enter upon and fulfil the duties of his office.
[…]
By order of the Board of Health,
J. Guthrie Scott, Secretary.
Office of the Board of Health, Montreal, June 11, 1832
PRESENT
The Hon. C. W. Grant, Chairman
The Hon. John Molson, The Hon. P. De Rocheblave, William Robertson, M.D., Adam L. Macnider, Joseph Roy, Olivier Berthlet, John Stephenson, M. D., Henry Corse, William J. Vallée M. D., John Turney and Andrew Doyle, Esquires, The Rev, John Bethune, J. Guthrie Scott, Secretary.
The following ADDITIONAL RULES, REGULATIONS, ORDERS, and DIRECTIONS were unanimously adopted –
First, That all Passengers landed in the Port of Montreal, from Steam or other Vessels, shall within two hours after landing, remove from the Wharves.
Secondly, That one or more Public Privies shall be created as contiguous as possible to the Wharves.
By order of the Board of Health,
J. GUTHRIE SCOTT, Secretary
