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Company were represented by Mr. Courthope-Munroe. In course of
examination, the Sanitary Inspector, Mr. Grist, fully showed that the
drains were defective upon 'Kemp-testing.' It was also stated that
complaint was received from the tenants of the foul smells issuing from
the waste-pipes. Mr. Grist, after giving evidence upon the 'Kemptesting,'
also described the manner in which the attempt was made to
fill the drains for water-testing. Mr. Long, Chief Sanitary Inspector of
the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark, stated that he had examined
the premises and could corroborate the statements made by the previous
witness. For the defendants, Counsel called Dr. Wynter-Blyth to give
evidence. He asked Dr. Blyth whether he was the Chairman of the
Sanitary Institute, &c., and had had vast experience in drainage aud other
sanitary matters. He was further asked by Counsel whether he had
examined these premises; he stated that he had, and could find no
nuisance. He stated that the trap which the Borough Council were
asking the owner to provide would only create the nuisance they were
seeking to abate. He was then asked by the Magistrate whether it was
a fair thing to apply the water-test to old drains? and he stated, 'No.'
Upon cross-examination by Mr. Long, he admitted that the area over
which the test was applied had nothing to do with pressure upon the
joints, and that it was simply a matter of vertical height of the column.
Then upon being asked what would be the pressure in this case upon the
joints of the pipes? he said, 'He did not know.' Mr. Long stated,
'Of course you are an expert in this matter, you are an examiner of
Sanitary Inspectors, and if I tell you the height of the column was not
more than 2ft. 6in., can you not tell me the pressure per square inch upon
the joints?' He said, 'No, he could not.' Mr. Long also said, 'Is
it a fact that you do not regard a leaky drain as a defective one?'
'Not always,' he said; 'allowance has to be made for the age of the
drain.' Mr. Long replied, 'I am sorry for Marylebone, then!' And
further asked, 'Would it not be a fair thing to do to charge the drain
with water up to the point at which it would be charged if it became
choked in the ordinary way? 'Dr. Blyth's reply was indefinite. And
again, 'Would it not be a fact that if the drain became choked in any
way that the sewage matter would percolate into the surrounding soil?'
Dr. Blyth replied, 'If the joints were broken, certainly.' The Counsel
for the defence then addressed the Magistrate, urging that the Borough
Council had behaved very unfairly in the matter by forcing the joints of
the drains and then going into Court and complaining of nuisance, which
they themselves had created. The Magistrate, in summing up, said that
it was very hard upon property owners that their drains should be water-