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122
PROCEEDINGS TAKEN UNDER "THE HOUSING OF THE
WORKING CLASSES ACT, 1891."
There were no new proceedings taken under this Act during the
year, the Public Health Committee having been more than occupied
with those taken in respect to the Norfolk Square Area.
Although at nearly every meeting of the Committee something
with respect to this insanitary area was considered, nevertheless, at the
end of the year a termination to the proceedings by possession of the
houses and land seemed as far off as possible.
The Public Health Committee have done their very best to bring
the negotiations with the various persons interested to a conclusion, but
endless legal and other difficulties have spun out matters indefinitely.
The Norfolk Square Area covers only 2½ acres of ground, and
consequently one might reasonably expect that in a few mouths at most,
after the representation of the Medical Officer (the late Dr. Tidy), it
would have come into the hands of the Vestry. It is now nearly three
years since that representation was made, and the negotiations are not
yet concluded.
The experience of this Act of Parliament in Islington has not been
such as to induce the Vestry to lightly take proceedings under it (at
all events, under Part I.) again.
PUBLIC DISINFECTION.
Street Watering and Disinfectants.—The mixing of Carbolic
Acid with the water used in street watering was continued during
the summer months, with satisfaction to the Public Health Department.
Courts, Lanes, and Street Channels.—Carbolic Acid Disinfecting
Powder was applied during the hottest portions of the year to these
places, and also to the channels in some of the dirtiest parts of the district.