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possible, for a private Member to successfully legislate without the co-operation
of the responsible Minister of His Majesty's Government. In these circumstances
a letter was addressed to the several Borough Councils asking them
to communicate with the President of the Local Government Board, urging the
desirability of the Government taking charge of the Bill, or granting facilities
for its passage into law during the Session of Parliament, and it is gratifying
that almost all the Borough Councils made representations to the President on
these lines.
It is interesting to refer to the amounts paid during the past few years by
this Authority in repairing or reconstructing sewers due to combined drainage.
In 1902 3 it was £5361 8s. 0d.; in 1903-4, £4001 12s. 5d.; in 1904-5,
£1998 17s. 5d.; in 1905-6, £1489 2s. 7d.; in 1906-7, £1458 3s. 1d.; and
in 1907-8, £546 1s. 7d. From 1899 to 1908 no less a sum than
£24,508 15s. 7d. has been paid by this Authority on account of this work
which in the nine years involved the ratepayers of the Metropolis in the
expenditure of about £250,000.
The Bill approved by the Conference for amending the law, if passed by
Parliament, would relieve the ratepayers of the expense of repairing or
reconstructing drains which have been combined, very often surreptitiously,
upon private premises, and the expense would then very properly fall upon the
owners of the premises.
A complete Report upon this subject by the Chief Clerk of the Public Health
Department, was published as a separate Report in June, 1908.
§ 8.—STORAGE AND REMOVAL OF OFFENSIVE
MATTERS. CLEANSING AND SCAVENGING.
Salting Snow.—Unmelted snow may lie for days and become so compressed
by treading and rolling as to become dangerous to both foot and wheeled
traffic, whereas salting will enable the traffic to be rapidly freed if it is
promptly followed by sweeping.
The object of salting snow is to melt it quickly so that it may be easily
swept into the gutters, whence it can run away as a liquid through the street
gulleys into the sewers. A layer of freshly-fallen snow an inch deep, spread
with powdered salt, will melt in a few minutes, and, if the spreading be
followed by sweeping, a thoroughfare may be quickly cleared. The essential
point in the use of salt is that the snow shall be promptly swept away within a
short time of salting. If there is delay in the sweeping there is reason for
serious complaint by the public, because the addition of salt to snow makes the
resultant mixture much colder than ordinary ice-water, and, being much morepenetrating
in the liquid than in the solid form, acts as a freezing mixture to
the feet of man and animals.
The conclusion is that no salting of snow should take place unless and until
preparation has been made to follow it up shortly by sweeping.