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THE STRAND DISTRICT, LONDON.
163
Most of the affirmative replies are given without comment, but Manchester
considers that such power if given should be limited and guarded.
The seventeen replying in the negative are :—
Hackney.
Lambeth.
Rotherhithe.
St. George, Hanover Square
St. George-the-Martyr,
South wark.
St. James.
St. Luke.
Stoke Newington.
Birmingham.
Blackpool.
Esher.
Glasgow.
Kingeton-on-Thames
Portsmouth.
Reading.
Richmond.
West Bromwich.
With t'lose may be mentioned the indefinite replies; the reason of the answers
of some in each of these groups is that no difficulty has arisen in these respective
districts in getting permission to erect shafts.
Ilampstead The Vestry has never erected shafts without permission
; no opinion stated with reference to
compulsion.
Newington Do. do.
Ealing Dj. do.
Liverpool Do. do.
St. George-in the-East Doubtful.
Sunderland Do.
Wolverhampton Do
Shoreditch Should sewer gas destructors work satisfactorily
there would be no necessity for erecting ventilating
shafts on private property.
Others of the dissentients appear to approve of the erection of shafts against
houses, but consider that it should only be with concurrence of owners. A number
are doubtless influenced in their replies by a case which was recently heard at
Birmingham Assizes, in which the executors of a Mr. Smith sued the King's Norton
Rural District Council and obtained judgment for damages to the amount of £3,500
for the loss of Mr. Smith's life from illness ("blood poisoning") alleged to have
been produced by a defective sewer ventilating shaft which was carried from the
sewer into the flue of a chimney of Mr. Smith's house. It is stated to have been
disconnected from the sewer, but this was found to be imperfect. The shaft itself
besides being in such a position, is stated to have been defectively constructed with
badly fitting joints.
Instances have already been quoted from the replies of evil resulting from badly
constructed shafts, or from shafts being badly placed. No danger is alleged in the
replies in connection with shafts in proper positions; it must be remembered,
however, that if the emanations are harmful at the ground level, it is only
minimising and not entirely removing the danger to discharge these emanations 10,
15 or 20 feet above the level of the roadway.
In accordance with the directions of the Committee one of Messrs Deakin's
(Webb's) ventilating lamps has been erected and may be seen at work in Dansey
Yard, Macclesfield Street, and a repoit upon its working will be presented by your
Surveyor and myself in due course.
Your obedient Servant,
FRANCIS J. ALLAN.