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original soil-pipes had been provided for. As to the
esthetics of the matter, the Crown Surveyor refused
to allow soil-pipes to be trailed up over the beautiful
stone facades of the hotel. And such an exhibition
of soil-pipes would have been a notable eye-sore in
Pall Mall and the Haymarket. As to the sanitation,
external soil-pipes would have had to be trained in
and out over the stone cornices, or these stone cornices
would have had to be mutilated in order to make way
for the soil-pipes. Horizontal stretches of soil-pipe inside
the building meant bad sanitation by unventilated
dead-ends; the certainty of frequent obstruction and
nuisance; and, further, the probable formation of latent
perforations in the upper segments of the horizontal pipes
—so as to let soil-pipe-air into the hotel. Thereupon
I had to point out that this bye-law, while of general
utility in ordinary dwelling-houses, was for large
and complicated buildings, often a bad bye-law,
and I advised the Public Health Committee to offer no
objection to the soil-pipes being put inside the building—
provided that the soil-pipes were arranged to their satisfaction
as to plan, materials, and workmanship. I
submitted that if it were necessary to enforce this unsuitable
bye-law upon this special building, that painful duty
might be left to the London County Council. This
course was recommended by the Public Health Committee.
But, in the Vestry, objection was taken to allowing the
bye-law to lapse under any circumstances whatever, and
the discussion of the question was prejudiced by the ungenerous
suggestion that a wealthy Company was receiving
more consideration than an ordinary householder.
Pending the prolonged discussion which ensued, the
works at the Carlton Hotel went on, and the soil-pipes
were completed. In order then to vindicate the byelaw,
a prosecution was instituted and the Magistrate
inflicted a nominal fine of forty shillings upon the understanding
that no further penalties were to be asked for.
Meanwhile it had been realized by the Vestry that the