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Cleansing of Streets, Courts and Gullies.
The major part of the work of street cleansing is done during the night, when the whole of the
City is cleansed either by motor brooms, motor water waggons or jet and hose.
The condition of the centres of the carriageways in main thoroughfares during dry weather,
except in market areas, is clean enough to render a nightly washing of the whole surface unnecessary,
and such carriageways are therefore completely washed once a week only. On the other five nights
of the week the channels are washed. In wet weather, however, the whole of the carriageways are
washed every night if necessary.
Certain secondary streets, including those in the vicinity of Billingsgate and Leadenhall Markets,
are washed every night, and streets in the vicinity of Smithfield Market three times per week.
Most of the street gullies are emptied as often as required by mechanical means, two machines
being employed for this purpose every night. After the gullies have been emptied, they are re-sealed
with clean water from the machines and the contents of the gullies removed to Lett's Wharf.
Gullies in courts and narrow thoroughfares, which are inaccessible to the machines, are emptied
by hand periodically or flushed fortnightly.
During the year 1935, 63,328 gullies were cleansed and 24,115,000 gallons of water used for cleansing
streets, courts and gullies.
pigeons.
The congregation of pigeons within the City area continues to be a source of nuisance
and damage, and it is essential that continual efforts be directed in order that the number of
these birds may be kept within reasonable limits. This is not easy, because the City churches
and other ornate structures afford such safe nesting places, and the easy acquisition of food.
The work of destruction is in the hands of a contractor who, during 1935, destroyed
554 pigeons. As in the past, any ringed birds which have been caught have been sent to
the Homing Union, in accordance with an undertaking given when the Act of Parliament
under which action is permitted was placed on the Statute Book. Only one ringed bird
was caught during 1935.
There is considerable antagonism to the activities of the persons engaged in catching
these birds, but I would assure these well-meaning people that every care is taken to ensure
that the trapping is not attended by any element of cruelty. The birds, after being caught,
are brought to the Corporation depot in Golden Lane and destroyed under my supervision.
exhumation and re-interment of bodies.
City of London Cemetery.
During the year the bodies of four persons buried at the City of London Cemetery,
at Ilford, have been exhumed and subsequently re-interred in the same cemetery. In accordance
with the terms of the licences issued by the Home Secretary in respect of these cases,
the work of removal and re-interment was carried out in the early morning and under the
supervision of your Medical Officer of Health.
discovery of human remains.
57 /59, Charterhouse Street.
During excavation work at 57 /59, Charterhouse Street, a small quantity of human
remains was discovered. These remains, which were very old, were not found in any orderly
state, and had in all probability been disturbed at some previous excavation.
I communicated with the City Police and the City Coroner and, with their approval,
the remains, which totalled only one small bagful, were duly re-interred on the site with
every decency and precaution.
housing.
Under the 1930 Housing Act a survey of every working-class house was made forthwith,
and I felt that, were an extreme view of necessities under the Act taken, many of the comparatively
few working-class private houses in the City would fail, in some respect, to come
up to the standard set. Without a housing act many of the houses, and these the least
conformable, would have been demolished long since but for the Rent Restriction Act,
and even in presence of that Act, demolition of the worst houses has already taken place
on normal evolution. Meanwhile, other houses have been brought to habitable state under
the Housing Act within the existing limitations imposed by the City Byelaws. On the
whole, from the very nature of the City's population and buildings, housing difficulties,
as contemplated by the 1930 Act, did and do not exist in a critical form.
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