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exceptions they were loyally obeyed by those upon whom
they were served. But, towards the close of 1894, objections
were raised by certain members of the Committee to
the issue of reconstruction notices, and, these objections
having been allowed to prevail, thenceforth notices were
issued to " repair and make sound " defective drains.
The service of notices to repair drains that were
obviously incapable of being made sound—excepting by
takingup and relaying the pipes—caused general inconvenience
and led to not a little unpleasantness. The sanitary inspector
and the builder might be quite aware of the necessity "for a
new drain; but it was sometimes found difficult to convince
the owner of the necessity for a reconstruction of the house
drain when the Sanitary Authority only asked for a reparation.
ln a great many of these cases, however, the drain was
reconstructed under the Surveyor's supervision, proper plans
being deposited ;* whilst in other cases the drain was repaired
and made sound (in other words patched-up) under the supervision
of the Sanitary Inspector, sometimes at a cost little
less than would have been entailed by reconstruction.
Trapping.—With respect to the trapping question, it had
been, during ten years, one of your Vestry's instructions to the
Saintary Inspectors (reiterated on three separate occasions)
* The several Inspectors furnished me with a return in January. 1895,
showing that in 25 cases, out of 27. in which notices to " repair and make
sound "had been served, the drains were reconstructed.
The occasions were as follows :—
(1) in 1885. "All drains to be trapped front the sewer, outside the wall
of the house, next the sewer."
(2) in 1891. "The drain to be trapped from the sewer, outside
the house, by means of a syphon, provided, where practicable,
with an access chamber thereto, having a fresh air inlet and an
air-tight cover ; "and
(3) in 1804. "The drain to be trapped from the sewer,
outside the house, by means of a syphon, provided with a fresh air
inlet ; where practicable and necessary, a man-hole or access
chamber to be provided."