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52
as for the sixth year in succession not a single complaint of neglect or inattention has been
received."
Woolwich.—" The pail system continues to work satisfactorily. The dust is removed
weekly from every house in the district, and from some of the streets in the poorer parts of the
town twice or thrice weekly."
Since the Council's bye-law was made in 1893, prescribing the kind of dust receptacle
to be provided when dust receptacles were newly provided, moveable receptacles have largely
replaced the old fixed receptacles. There is, however, uo power to require the abolition of old
fixed dustbins when new moveable receptacles are provided, and the Council has not been able
to do more than make a bye-law prohibiting the use of the old receptacles under these circumstances.
The time has come when the question should be considered whether this power should
not be obtained, and further, whether the remaining fixed receptacles should not be abolished
throughout London, and moveable receptacles substituted for them. Such change would give
increased facilities to the scavenger in removing the refuse, and would, moreover, abolish a
source of nuisance. At the conference of sanitary authorities at the County Hall a resolution
was adopted " That in the opinion of the conference it is desirable that fixed ash-pits should be
abolished and moveable receptacles provided in their place." The difficulty which is experienced
in storing house refuse in flats emphasises the need for more frequent collection than once in
each week. The medical officer of health of Paddington writes : " The use of gas stoves in flats
adds very materially to the difficulty in dealing with household refuse. In a well-ordered household,
using coal ranges, all green and other wet refuse is burned in the fire and not put into the
dustbin. This cannot be done if all cooking is by gas. In many of the blocks of flats the buildings
are so arranged that no proper accommodation is provided for the dustbin, while the accommodation
provided is often too close to the windows of the lower fats. Given these two sets of circumstances,
the only remedy which will prove effective is a more frequent removal of dust." The
medical officer of health of Fulham also writes : " It is also to be regretted that the local
authority had not provided for more frequent removal of the refuse from flats, the necessity
for which I have frequently pressed upon them, as owing to the limited open space in connection
with these buildings an accumulation of over three or four days' refuse gives rise to a serious
nuisance."
The subject of a more frequent removal of dust than now exists was discussed at the
conference of sanitary authorities already referred to, and a resolution was adopted " That in the
opinion of the conference house refuse should be removed daily where practicable."
The need for the employment of a more suitable cart for the removal of refuse is referred
to in the report of the medical officer of health of Plumstead. He states that the carts have been
better covered than formerly, " but nuisances continue to occur of overloaded carts dropping
refuse behind them, of refuse falling in the road in the process of loading, and offensive dust being
blown about at the same time. The collection cannot be satisfactory until it is made with
suitably-constructed carts." In 1898 the London County Council offered a prize for the best
designed dust cart, and Mr. Henry Law, chairman of the Sanitary Institute, adjudicated on
'behalf of the Council upon designs represented in models and drawings which were submitted.
The conference of sanitary authorities adopted the following resolutions—" (1) That, in the
opinion of the conference, carts and waggons for the removal of dust, &c., should be so constructed
as to prevent, while loading and removing, the escape of their contents, and also, as far as possible,
bad smells; and that the open carts of the fashion at present in use should be fitted with a
tarpaulin cover supported by a horizontal bar; (2) that, as an alternative system to an improved
scavenger's cart, the best system of removing dust, &c., would be by using duplicate bins, one
containing the refuse being removed from the house and placed on a trolly and an empty one
left in its place at the house." In other districts the refuse is removed by rail or by barges.
Referring to the wharves on the canal basin in Paddington, Dr. Reginald Dudfield states the
requirement of the County Council's by-law that refuse may not be deposited in the course of
removal for more than twenty-four hours, and that of the Paddington Act, 1826, which limits the
time to twelve hours, cannot be fully complied with. He says—" The exact fulfilment of these
conditions is practically impossible, and legal proceedings are, in consequence, not instituted
except in extreme cases."
Of the various refuse and manure depots in Lambeth, the medical officer of health of that
district writes that their condition has been more satisfactory during the year. His report contains
the following paragraph—
" No single complaint has been received in connection with the Herne-hill Siding Manure Depot
during 1900 ; and in the case of the Nine-elms siding the manure traffic was carefully supervised,
with the result that at no time was there a nuisance with which the late vestry could have dealt, at
least with any prospect of success, remembering the provisoes mentioned in the Public Health Act
and the London County Council's By-laws. Commercial-road (at the north of the parish) contains
three dust depots belonging to neighbouring sanitary authorities, viz., Lett's-wharf (City of London),
Shot-tower-wharf (Strand District Board), and Phoenix-wharf (Clerkenwell Vestry), and these have
been kept under special observation so as to prevent, or at least minimise as far as possible, any
nuisance connected therewith. Such dust yards, unless carefully attended to from day to day,
become sooner or later a nuisance. In connection with Lett's and Phoenix wharves, the house refuse
is hand-sorted by men and boys, women and girls, and a more disgusting occupation it would be
difficult to find, the workpeople at times standing waist deep in offensive matters of all sorts. At
Lett's-wharf the City of London Corporation employ 60 women (and girls) and 40 men (and boys),
the wages of the former being 12s. to 14s. per week, and the latter 12s. to 26s. per week, with sick
pay in addition. At Phoenix-wharf the Clerkenwell Vestry employs 12 women (and girls) and 9 men
(and boys), the wages of the former being 3d. per hour (making an average of 2s. per day), and of
the latter from 13s. to 26s. per week, with sick pay in additio
Hand-sorting of house refuse is also carried on in other parts of the parish, viz., Cookson's and
Clarkson's yards, Tinworth-street. At the former yard 15 women and 9 men are employed at average