View report page

33
broken or defective water supply apparatus, so that 1,241
notices were served for repair of the same, and complied with
by the owners ; and there wore also 105 closets discovered in
fairly good houses, without any supply. This is a larger number
than usual, and arose to a great extent from the slight
structure of the flushing boxes and the insufficient way in which
they were fixed up; and the 163 closets without supply were
those provided for servants. The whole question of water supply
and water supply apparatus requires reconsideration, as the
Metropolitan Vestries and Boards of Works have no power to
enforce a supply for domestic purposes, distinct from that to water
closets, so that fresh legislation is urgently required to give such
power. It would also be of much service to sanitary officials,
if they were specifically empowered to enforce the regulations
for water supply, now in force for the metropolis, as approved by
the Board of Trade. An important decision has lately been given
in the Court of Appeal in Westminster Sessions, enabling Water
Companies to require cisterns in addition to flushing boxes to be
provided for all houses. How far this decision will be acted upon
it is impossible to say, but if generally carried out it will do much to
prevent drinking water being drawn from a cistern which
supplies a water-closet directly without the intervention of a
flushing box. Something has been done in this direction by
the inspectors during the year, as 104 flushing boxes have been
provided in houses where the same cistern supplied water for
drinking and water closet purposes, and 396 lengths of pipe were
connected with the supply pipe to the house, and provided with a
tap, to enable the occupiers to obtain water direct from the main.
Of course all the last-named houses were on the constant supply.
Dust Removal for the Year 1888.—During the first quarter
of the year Mr. Iszard removed 2,662 loads of dust from the A
Division at 2s. 3d. per load ; Mr. Potter, 2,660 loads from the
B Division at 2s. per load; and Mr. Stevens 2,760 loads from
the C Division at 2s. 6d. per load. On the 25th of March
new contracts came in force at increased prices for all the