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244
defendant 1/- and 2/- costs, at the same time characterising the
bye-law as an “absurd one.” The remark of the magistrate has
not tended to assist the Vestry or its officers in the discharge of
their duties and the enforcement of the bye-laws in question.
Numerous complaints have been made with reference to the
removal of offensive matter in the portion of the district where
the offence in question was committed, and considerable difficulty
had been occasioned in detecting the offence during prohibited
hours. The offensive matter was being removed about an hour
after the time allowed by the bye-laws, and the magistrate's
remark must, therefore, be regarded as not calculated to assist
the Vestry in carrying out the duty imposed upon it by the
Public Health (London) Act, and the bye-laws made thereunder.
In consequence of the decisions of the High Court to the
effect that defective combined systems of drainage, in respect of
which no approval of the Sanitary Authority had been given, the
the liability in respect thereto, falls upon the Vestry; it has been
found necessary during the year under report for the Vestry to
recognise its liability in this matter and put in proper repair
certain of such combined systems. Bills have been before both
Houses of Parliament with a view to an amendment of the law,
the object aimed at being to impose the liability to repair, upon
the owners of such properties. The matter is one of extreme
importance to the Vestry, and it has given its support to the
measures aforementioned, and it is hoped that there will be an
early amendment of the law, in order that the difficulties now
experienced in carrying out the provisions of the Public Health
Act in this respect, may be removed.
During the year, in construction of drainage works, some
eight cesspools in various parts of the parish were found to be in
existence, which have been emptied and filled with clean brick
rubbish or other suitable material. In some cases the cesspools
were found to be in actual use, in others the drains had been
laid through them.