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with exhalations of the organic matter with which (he walls,
ceilings, floors, &c., were defiled ; the " dirt" being of that
nature which, more than common conditions of mere dirtiness,
calls for the exercise of the power of a Sanitary Authority to
require those works of " cleansing " &c., which it is a principal
object of bye-laws, framed under Section 94 of the Public
Health (London) Act, to secure.
It will not be out of place here, to add that the above
case illustrated the necessity for the provision of a " Shelter "
tor the temporary accommodation of poor people whilst their
rooms are being disinfected, a subject to which reference is
made in another part of this report.
OFFENSIVE STREET SMELLS.
Long continued dry weather, combined with heat,
accounted for numerous complaints received towards the
middle of the year of offensive smells from street gulleys and
wood-paved roads. The subject was considered by the Sanitary
Committee, whose recommendation that the Wharves and
Plant Committee be requested to instruct the Surveyor to
take all necessary steps for a more frequent cleansing of the
gulleys and wood-paved roads, was adopted by your Vestry.
With reference to this question, i may observe that pungent
as may be the odour arising from the roads paved with creasoted
wood blocks, there can be no doubt that it is less
objectionable, being also harmless, than the smells arising
from roads paved with non-creasoted wood blocks. The nuisance
from practically untrapped gulleys (and these are a
majority) is more dangerous, and ought not to be tolerated.
Nor would it exist if the requirements of section 71 of the
Metropolis Management Act, 1885, were complied with. It
reads us follows " Every district board and vestry shall, by