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Mr. J. w. west, of Harley Mews, North, was
summoned for a similar offence with regard to two houses
in Harley Mews, North, and fined £2 and 8s. costs.
A good many instances of combined drainage came during
the year before the Public Health Committee. It is the general
opinion of those conversant with the subject that some alteration
of the law is necessary so as more clearly and more sensibly to
define the terms "sewer" and "drain." The writer's own
opinion is that the best alteration would be to throw upon the
Local Authority the burden of constructing and maintaining all
connections to sewers underneath the public roads, while all
pipes or drains within the curtilage should be considered private
drains. At present the owner of a private drain has to maintain
and construct such drain from its higher end to the sewer. The
portion under the road he cannot meddle with without the
sanction of the Authority. In this district he cannot even construct
that portion himself, but it is done at his expense by the
Local Authority. Should, from causes over which he has no
control, such portion get into a bad state, he has to pay for its
reconstruction and repair.
The principle seems to be sound that pipes under roads
and streets should be owned by the Local Authority and not by
private individuals; under such a system the maintenance of the
sewers would in the long run be less, and problems of so-called
"combined drainage" would be easy of solution.
REPORT OF THE MORTUARY KEEPER.
The Report of the Mortuary Keeper shows that an increased
use of Mortuary was made during the year, as compared with
1905.
In all cases of death in houses which have no proper
accommodation for the storing of a corpse the Sanitary Inspector
suggests, and where necessary compels, the removal of the body
to the Mortuary.