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Authorities were present. This class of drainage has
arisen in part from want of supervision in the past, in
part from surreptitious alterations in building plans
sent in, and by additions made to existing drainage,
converting what was a single drain into a combined
drain. Under the existing law, laid down in
Sections 74 and 250 of the Metropolis Local Management
Act, 1855, and Section 112 of the Metropolis
Local Management Act, 1862, such combined
drains are vested in the Local Authority, but the
decisions of the Courts on the point have been
(apparently) so contradictory that it is difficult to say
in any given case who is responsible for a particular
drain. An attempt will undoubtedly be made to
secure some change in the law, but the only change
that would effectually clear up the difficulty would of
necessity be retrospective to a degree which it is against
the usual practice of Parliament to sanction.
Manure Receptacles.—The bye-laws of the County
Council require that the receptacles shall be above the
ground level, and the Department has endeavoured to
have the existing dung-pits re-constructed in accordance
with that requirement. There are, however,
many mews where the whole of the roadway between
the stables is public thoroughfare, and the erection of
an above-ground bin, or guard, would constitute an
obstruction. In other instances it has been found
that the whole frontage of the stable is taken up for
doors, leaving no space available for a bin. To