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As the principle involved affects not only Hampstead, but all
sanitary districts, it appears to me that it would be advantageous, in the
interests of greater accuracy, if a system of distributing information of
this nature to the districts concerned was inaugurated.
This might easily be carried out if all Registrars of Births and
Deaths were directed to notify the occurrence of such deaths to the
Registrars of the districts in which the deceased persons had residence.
The alternative to such an arrangement, would be for the information
to be forwarded from the Registrar General's Office, upon the
receipt of the Registrar's Quarterly returns.
Inspection of Nuisances.
During the year 11,927 inspections have been made by the District
and other Inspectors, and in 12,266 instances premises were re-inspected,
as compared with 8,002 inspection and 13,865 re-inspections in 1903.
Dust Shoots.
The demand for a device by which house refuse from dwellings
built on the flat principle could be readily disposed of with a minimum
amount of trouble to the tenants, led to the construction of what are
known as "dust shoots."
These consist of a brick or metal flue, constructed in or upon one
of the main walls of the building, extending to the top flat, and usually
terminating in a brick ashpit at or below the ground level.
There is an opening to this flue on each floor, either inside the
kitchen or scullery or immediately outside the window or door.
In addition to the ordinary house refuse, all kinds of decomposing
animal and vegetable matter are deposited in these shoots, and consequently
their condition soon becomes far more offensive than that of a
drain owing to the fact that they are neither flushed nor trapped.
They are especially liable to get choked through bulky rubbish
being placed in their, and when the wind is in certain directions it is
almost impossible for dust to be shot into them without some of it
blowing back into the dwelling.