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117
placed, or, at any rate, of the system of water-closets; but he thought the
words used in by-law 21 were intentionally wider than that, and
specifically applied to every trap or apparatus connected with a pipe or
drain. Two other questions remained—Were these by-laws under section
202 ultra vires, and were they unreasonable? On the first he was
distinctly of opinion that they were not ultra vires. As to the second
question, if he felt justified in pronouncing an opinion as to the
reasonableness of the by-law as applied to this building, he should have
great hesitation in deciding the case. He did not, however, feel so
justified; but generally, he could not doubt that it had been made by the
London County Council and approved by the Local Government Board
for good cause. In these circumstances, he could not hold that they were
unreasonable, though he regretted there was no proviso for the case
where it was proved that there was practically no danger of syphonage.
There were other dangers, no doubt, connected with pipes of too large a
diaipeter, and it might be that the authorities felt that the only safe way
of dealing with so difficult and dangerous a matter was bv such a hardand-fast
rule, and so long as it existed the local authority was bound to
enforce it. He had no alternative but to convict the defendants; and
there would be a fine of 40s. and £10 10s. costs on the first summons and
2s. costs on each of the others. In reply to an application on behalf of
the defendants, Mr. Cecil Chapman agreed to state a case. By-law 17
provides :—
" Any person who shall construct any water-closet, the soil pipe of
which shall communicate with any sewer and shall be in connection with
any other water-closet, shall cause the trap of every such water-closet to
be ventilated into the open air at a point as high as the top of the soil
pipe, or into the soil pipe at a point above the highest water-closet
connected with such soil pipe, and so that the ventilating pipe shall have
in all parts an internal diameter of not less than 2 in., and shall be
connected with the arm of the soil pipe or the trap at a point not less than
3 in. and not more that 12 in. from the highest part of the trap and on
that side of the water seal which is nearest to the soil pipe. He shall
cause the joint between the ventilating pipe and the arm of the soil pipe
or the trap to be made in the direction of the flow. . . ."
By-law 21 is as follows :—
"These by-laws shall, so far as practicable, apply to any person who
shall construct or reconstruct any pipe or drain or other means of
communicating with sewers, or any trap or apparatus connected therewith,
so far as he shall effect any such works in any building erected before the