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of the local authority, and no doubt for the reason that the question of profit must in large degree,
govern the action of the contractor. Thus, the medical officer of health of Hackney, while stating
that the number of requests for removal of house refuse have fallen from 893 in the year 1894, to
114 in the year 1898, points to the large number of "refusals" and "no answers" which were
reported, numbering some 8,000 and 1,200 per week respectively, and he writes—" I think that if
the vestry were to undertake the removal and disposal of the house refuse of the district without
the help of contractors a further improvement might be effected."
The by-laws made by the Council under the Public Health (London) Act require that all
receptacles for house refuse provided in London shall be moveable, and of a size which enables
them to be carried from the place where they are deposited to the dust-cart. By degrees the old
fixed brick dustbins of an unlimited size are being replaced by these moveable receptacles, and a
more frequent removal of refuse than once a week is already effected in some districts. The
medical officer of health of Bermondsey writes—" The dust, &c., continues to be collected twice a
week, the inhabitants being supplied with a pail, or pails, according to the requirements of each
case. The dust bins in the model lodging-houses are also cleared twice a week, thus reducing to a
minimum the nuisance caused by storage of dust, &c. The last of the public dust bins has been
abolished and pails supplied to the tenants." The medical officer of health of St. Olave, where the
refuse is collected more frequently than once a week in the main thoroughfares, states that
"This important service continues to be carried out regularly and efficiently, as for the fifth
year in succession not a single complaint of neglect or inattention has been received."
The medical officer of health of the City writes that " This skip system for house refuse
removal, which commenced in 1892, has been extended as circumstances demanded, and much
benefit has accrued to the persons for whose relief the method was adopted." The medical officer
of health of the Strand, where there is a daily collection of refuse, states that " fixed bins are
gradually being disused and abolished." In Newington the medical officer of health reports—
" The dust collection has much improved during the year, and but a very small number of houses
are without a metal bin." In Whitechapel the District Board are proposing to remove the dust
from the premises instead of requiring the householders to put the dust receptacles on the pavement
at the hour of removal. In Woolwich, the medical officer of health writes, " the pail system
continues to work most satisfactorily. The dust is removed weekly from every house in the
district, and from some of the poorer parts of the town twice or thrice weekly."
There is room for hope that at no distant time all houses in London will be provided with
moveable receptacles, and that it will be practicable for the sanitary authorities who will be constituted
under the London Government Act of 1899, to institute a daily collection of refuse
throughout London, and thus by better scavenging to remove one of the conditions which tend to
the production of diarrhœal disease.
Disposal of house refuse.
The disposal of house refuse in London is effected much in the same way as in the preceding
year, but the necessity of the adoption of the method of destruction by fire is becoming gradually
recognized. Thus, the Vestry of Fulham, the medical officer of health states, has accepted a tender
for the erection of a destructor at the Townmead Wharf capable of dealing with the whole of the
refuse of the parish, and the work is now being proceeded with. The medical officer of health of
Woolwich, a district which it may be pointed out is situated on the river, appends to his report a
statement by the surveyor of the district which shows that had the refuse not been destroyed in a
destructor, but had been barged away, the additional cost which would have been incurred during
the year 1897 would have amounted to £542 The medical officer of health of Lambeth, in which
district are situated refuse depots of some other districts, states that " the condition generally of
the different refuse and manure depots in the parish has been, throughout the year, satisfactory."
The dust destructor in connection with the City and South London Electric Supply Company is,
he says, approaching completion, and will be ready for use during the year 1899. The deposit
of house refuse on Wright's estate in Plumstead within 100 yards of houses, and which had been
discontinued for a time, was again commenced. Proceedings by the Plumstead Vestry were instituted
and the defendant fined. The medical officer of health of Kensington expresses the opinion that" the
time must ultimately come when the refuse will have to be cremated in or near the parish; the
otherwise waste-heat thus produced could be employed for the production of "current" for the
illumination of the streets by electricity—a practice which has already been adopted with success
in other districts. The vestry now possess a site at Wood-lane, where a 'destructor' and an
electric light installation might be advantageously located."
Flooding from, sewers.
Several of the reports of medical officers of health show that flooding of basements from
sewers has again occurred during 1898. The medical officer of health of St. George-the-Martyr
writes—" Amongst the sewer-flooded cellars visited by me were those in use as work-rooms by
bakers, cooks, printers, a butcher (a meat pickler), a window-blind maker, a furrier,
a gas fitter, a gilder, a paper-bag maker, and a publican." The medical officer of
health of' Newington, referring to flooding in that district, writes—"Whether this
flooding arises from the main sewers of the London Countp Council not being large
enough to speedily carry off this additional storm-water, or whether it is due to some hindrance at
the sewer outlets' to the ready flow of the sewage, I am unable to offer an opinion. The fact,
however, is beyond question, that when these storms occur the sewers are not only full, but there
is a pressure of a column of sewage many feet in height on our house drains and connections, and
in the case of joints not being water-tight, the subsoil is fouled by sewage. The effect of this is