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37
Details of these cases have been furnished in my Monthly Reports.
It is therefore unnecessary to reproduce them here. One exception,
however, I must make, as follows :
In Russia Lane is a pile of so-called Model Dwellings in the shape
of a hollow square, with a large block in the middle, reproducing
and intensifying the evils of the well known "Blind Court."
A number of cases of infectious disease were reported and
complaints were made as to the insanitary condition of these
buildings. I carefully inspected the whole block, presented a report
and drew the attention of the Sanitary Committee to its dirty and
insanitary condition, specially pointing out the faulty position of the
dust shoots, and the defective lighting and ventilation of some of
the rooms.
These dust-shoots are all inside the buildings and the inlets or
apertures through which the dust is thrown are in many
instances placed in the closets just over the seats. When the dust
shoots are cleared great nuisance is caused, and the stink finds its
way into the living rooms.
The tenements in one angle of the hollow square are badly lighted
and ventilated; the living rooms of each set (there are five floors)
have no external window, but are merely lighted from a passage,
and the occupants are thus compelled to use lamps all day; the
bedrooms are fairly well lighted from the back.
The premises were viewed by the Sanitary Committee and as the
owners declined to move the dust shoots, on the 29th of November
last, proceedings were ordered to be taken at Worship Street for
the purpose of obtaining orders to remove the dust shoots to the
exterior of the buildings and to close the badly lighted rooms, 169,
170, 171 & 172. In the interval between the issue of the summons
and the hearing of the case, the owners did a great deal of work;
they cleansed and repaired the buildings, broke down the partition
walls between the living room and one of the bedrooms in each
dark set and put in windows, and by the free use of whitewash and
light-wall papers gave the rooms a fairly light and airy appearance.
Still the light and ventilation were only borrowed and in my opinion
not satisfactory.