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112
It is the practice of the sanitary inspector when called upon to
examine a house to do so thoroughly, and not to leave the house
until he is satisfied that it is, in regard to its drainage and its cleanly
condition, sanitary, and in all respects fit for habitation. It is only
on rare occasions that I give directions to the sanitary inspector as
to how, or in what directions, he should carry out his house to house
inspection. The Council have always insisted upon a complete
report being made as to the drainage and the sanitary appliances of
the house. This thorough examination and the subsequent carrying
out of necessary work has been found to lead to great economy in
working, and has prevented the too frequent repetition of visits. It
has also had a beneficial effect on the health of our inhabitants, as
shewn by the decrease in the death-rate of six per thousand during
the last few years.
The reconstruction of the drainage of old houses, especially
during the last ten years, has proceeded very rapidly, nearly a
thousand houses being dealt with every year. I am quite within the
estimate when I say that two-thirds of the house drains of the
Borough have been reconstructed under the Council's regulations now
in force within the last twelve years. We have always held that
where a house drain was constructed more than twenty years ago,
and where it is unventilated and not intercepted, and especially
where a test has given a result, that a portion of the drain should be
uncovered so that its actual condition could be ascertained. At one
time we used to prefer to water-test a drain, but as owners so
persistently objected to it we are content to have a portion of the
drain uncovered so that we can see the condition of the joints. This
might be thought to be hardly necessary in old drains as every house
drain constructed more than twenty years ago was constructed with
clay joints, and of course, by the lapse of time, the clay has become
perished and been washed away, leaving the joints quite open. No
drain of that kind could be allowed to remain without leakage of
sewage into the surrounding subsoil, constituting a serious menace to
the health of the residents of the house.
I know of no large property owner, with the exception of Lord
Llangattock, who has not accepted these old clay-jointed drains as
nuisances creating serious danger to health, and who has not readily
assented to a reconstruction of such drains at his own cost. The
chief property owners in Southwark such as Mr. Yates Messrs.
Sutton & Dudley, Mr. Sansom, Mr. Norris, Messrs. Gledhill and
others have never, in my recollection, objected to a drain being