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defective roof, 1; defective floor, 2; dirty cistern, 1; defective ventilation,
1; defective gas stove, 1; and in 2 cases the business was
carried on in a careless manner.
Draft by.laws proposed to be made by the County Council under
Section 9 of their General Powers Act, 1908, were submitted for the
observations of the City Council. They deal with the businesses of fish
curers, fried fish vendors, and rag and bone dealers.
The City Council objected to several of the suggested provisions.
It was proposed that a notice of infringement of any by.law may be
given by the County Council as well as by a Borough Council, and that
penalties may be enforced for failure to comply.
There does not appear to be any provision in the Act for this dual
control, and Section 10 specifically states that it shall be the duty of
each sanitary authority to enforce this part of the Act and all by.laws
made under it.
In the proposed by.laws for rag and bone dealers one of the by.laws
would permit a bedroom to open directly out of a room used for the
storage and manipulation of rags, bones, fat, rabbit.skins and other like
articles. I reported that this is a most objectionable arrangement, and
one which would be condemned under the Public Health and Housing
and Town Planning Acts. I suggested the substitution of the words
contained in Section 8 (d) of the 1908 General Powers Act, which
requires that no sleeping place shall adjoin such room or communicate
therewith except through the open air, or through an intervening ventilated
space.
By.law 7 dealing with the periodical removal of bones and fat
provided that such removal shall be in the receptacles provided by the
dealer, or in ones provided by the person removing such bones and fat.
The intention may be that the person who takes the stuff away may
supply the receptacles for storage in the interval, but the by.law as
drafted would permit the emptying of the dealers' receptacles into those
of the remover, and this procedure has been found at times to be a
source of nuisance, when the material is of an offensive character.
The proposed by.laws had not been confirmed at the end of the year.
One dealer in rags and bones was dealt with for causing a nuisance
by exposing offensive fat and bones in uncovered tins.
Greengrocers' Shops.—One greengrocer was cautioned with
reference to the improper storage of vegetables.
Pea.picking, Seed.Sorting, &c.—Inspection has been made in the
early hours of the morning of the premises in and around Covent Garden
Market where women are employed. The improved conditions resulting
from inspection in previous years have been maintained.