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whereby proceedings before a Magistrate may be quashed,
"where a fire-place or furnace is constructed in such a
manner as to consume, as far as practicable, having regard
to the nature of the manufacture or trade, all smoke
arising therefrom, and that such fire-place or furnace has
been carefully attended to by the person in charge thereof,
and the Court, if satisfied of this, shall hold that no
nuisance is created and dismiss the complaint." The
Vestry is now the Sanitary Authority to deal with Smoke
Nuisance under the Act, but it must be remembered that
the Act of Parliament definitely and specifically states
black (and no other) smoke as a nuisance, under the conditions
as stated above.
Considering all the above circumstances, I am of opinion,
as Medical Officer, that the Vestry would not, for the
present, be justified in taking action in connection with
any of the above-mentioned Firms—certainly not with any
prospect of success, as in each case special appliances
have been provided in connection with the furnaces,
kilns, and boilers to prevent a nuisance arising from any
unconsumed smoke, and reasonable precautions taken to
minimise, as far as possible, carelessness or laziness on the
part of the stokers and kiln-burners concerned. As a
corollary it follows that the London County Council would
be ill-advised to take proceedings over the head of the
Vestry of Lambeth, as threatened in their letter dated
July 6th.
Joseph Priestley.
July 11th, 1898.