These orders of my lord mayor were published, as I have said, toward the end of June. They came into operation from July ist, and were as follows:
"Orders conceived and published by the lord mayor and aldermen of the city of London, concerning the infection of the plague, 1665.
"Whereas, in the reign of our late sovereign, King James, of happy memory, an act was made for the charitable relief and ordering of persons infected with the plague; whereby authority was given to justices of the peace, mayors, bailiffs, and other head officers, to appoint within their several limits, examiners, searchers, watchmen, surgeons, and nurse-keepers, and buriers, for the persons and places infected, and to minister unto them oaths for the performance of their offices. And the same statute did also authorize the giving of other directions, as unto them for the present necessity should seem good in their discretions. It is now upon special consideration thought very expedient for preventing and avoiding of infection of sickness (if it shall so please Almighty God) that these officers be appointed, and these orders hereafter duly observed."
Then follow the orders giving these officers instructions in detail and prescribing the extent and limits of their several duties. Next, "Orders concerning infected houses and persons sick of the plague." These had reference to the "notice to be given of the sickness," "sequestration of the sick," "airing the stuff," "shutting up of the house," "burial of the dead," "forbidding infected stuff to be sold, and of persons leaving infected houses," "marking of infected houses," and "regulating hackney coaches that have been used to convey infected persons."
Lastly there followed "Orders for cleansing and keeping the streets and houses sweet" and "Orders concerning loose persons and idle assemblies" such as "beggars," "plays," "feasts," and "tippling-houses."
"(Signed) SIR JOHN LAWRENCE, Lord Mayor.
SIR GEORGE WATERMAN,
SIR CHARLES DOE,
Sheriffs."
I need not say that these orders extended only to such places as were within the lord mayor's jurisdiction; so it is requisite to observe that the justices of the peace, within those parishes, and those places called the hamlets and out-parts, took the same method: as I remember, the orders for shutting up of houses did not take place so soon on our side, because, as I said before, the plague did not reach the eastern parts of the town, at least not begin to be very violent, till the beginning of August.
Now, indeed, it was coming on amain; for the burials that same week were in the next adjoining parishes thus:
The next week To the prodigiously 1st of increased, as Aug. thus
St. Leonard's, Shoreditch … 64 84 110
St. Botolph, Bishopsgate …. 65 105 116
St. Giles, Cripplegate…….213 421 554
—- —- —-
342 610 780