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pollution and infection to milk and other foods. The paving of
backyards and forecourts is well known as an important remedial
measure, and there is much need for work of this kind in Hampstead.
Unfortunately, however, the Council is not at present in a strong
position to enforce the paving of backyards and forecourts. The
bye-law relating to this subject made by the late Vestry in 1893
under Section 16 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, would
be useful if it could be enforced, but after some decisions in the
High Court a few years ago, it would be unwise to rely upon it.
This bye-law is in the following terms:—
"The owner of every dwelling house in connection with
which there is any yard or open space shall, where it is
necessary for the prevention or remedy of insanitary
conditions, that all or part of such yard or open space shall be
paved, forthwith cause the same to be properly paved with a
hard, durable, and impervious pavement, evenly and closely
laid upon a sufficient bed of good concrete, and so sloped to
a properly constructed channel as effectually to carry off all
rain or waste water therefrom, and he shall cause such
pavement to be kept in proper repair."
The bye-law has been amended by the Council this year (1907)
and the proposed new bye-law has been submitted to the Local
Government Board for approval. When this approval has been
received it will be possible to carry out valuable work in enforcing
yard paving in certain parts of the Kilburn Ward, and in other
areas where such work is badly needed.
4. Dirt in the House.—It has been found that summer
diarrhoea, which must be looked upon as a filth disease, is specially
prevalent in dirty houses. It is obvious that it is difficult to prevent
the contamination of food in such houses. In most cases a house is
dirty because the tenant is dirty, but another factor is the lack of
adequate water supply. In many of the tenement houses in
Hampstead, the occupiers of the upper tenements are obliged to go
down several flights of stairs, sometimes even to the basement to obtain
water. After a decision in the Woolwich Police Court some
eighteen months ago it was thought that the Sanitary Authority had
power to insist on an adequate water supply in tenement houses, but