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cowhouses and 10 slaughterhouses under inspection; they are
kept in a cleanly condition, have proper manure receptacles,
and generally speaking, conform to the requirements of the
Sanitary Authority; we therefore did not this year offer any
objection to any of the licenses being renewed.
Water.
The question of a pure water supply is one that is of great
interest to all classes of the community, and the unfortunate
experience at Maidstone seriously shows the necessity of a
constant supervision being exercised over the sources from
which the water supplies are derived, and also that the quality
should be frequently examined by competent authorities. It
may not be generally known to the members of the Vestry that
the water in our district is sampled daily, for analysis as to its
composition and quality, by Sir William Crookes and Professor
James Dewar, independent scientific authorities. The results
of such analyses are forwarded to the Vestry every month.
Taking the reports for the year, the water has been pure and
of clear colour. It will thus be seen that every care is taken
to guard against impurity in the water supply. There is no
other city in the world where such minute and incessant care
is taken daily and almost hourly to detect and report on the
slightest deviation from purity in the water supply.
Although this year there was no drought during the summer
months, there were many tenement dwellings in the East End
of London where cisterns above the level of 40 feet from the
ground level were not supplied with water, and this caused
great inconvenience. There was a breakdown in the Thames
main in August, which may have affected the supply. The
Company state that they do not guarantee a supply of water at
a higher level than 40 feet, but it is a well-known fact that there
are many tenements in the East End of London which are
situated at a much higher altitude than this, and require a
proper supply of water. It appears to me that the Legislature
should compel water companies to supply water at whatever
level the public find it necessary to erect dwellings.