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109
Mr. Dickins' letter to the Town Clerk.
(Copy).
155, Old Kent Road, S.E.,
28th November, 1906.
Dear Sir,
Rolls Estate and Borough of Southwark.
Anxious as I am at all times to act amicably with the Borough's
officers, I am compelled to ask you to bring before your Council my
protest against the system of persecution being pursued by their
Medical Officer of Health against Owners and their Lessees in
Southwark.
I need not, I feel sure, dwell upon Lord Llangattock's desire to
act with your Council for the welfare of the Borough, nor remind
you that since the beginning of 1902 he had expended large sums as
to which no legal obligation rested upon him, in carrying out
the arrangement set forth in my letter of 4th March, 1902, whereby
he undertook that in the case of sewers when a chemical test showed
that danger to health existed he would not avail himself of his legal
right to disclaim responsibility, but would, subject to the Authorities
agreeing to such an arrangement, relay or repair the sewer conditionally
to the Authorities undertaking to repay half the amount so
expended.
No Officer of Health could be more anxious than the owner of
the Bolls Estate for the welfare of bis tenants.
His Lordship, I think, naturally expected to be met by the
officials in a spirit of equity and goodwill.
His experiences have proved how ill-founded were these
expectations.
The ingenuity of the Sanitary Authorities appears to be exercised
to the utmost to obtain employment for their inspectors at
the cost of "Owners" where a drain is found technically imperfect
the law is brought into force to compel its repair or reconstruction,
often at heavy and unnecessary cost—where the "drain" is found to
be a "sewer" and the liability for repair rests with the Borough
nothing has been done in any case which has come under my notice
to remedy real or supposed evils, excepting when Lord Llangattock
has consented to pay a moiety of the outlay.