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refuse and slops are put into a back room. If this house had been
registered in conformity with your Bye-laws, the lodger would
have known that it was his duty to remove filth and refuse from
his rooms, and to empty them in the common dust-bin. The landlord
would have taken more notice of complaints of lodgers as to
defective water fittings, drainage, and the inspection on application
for registration would doubtless have led to the above faults
being remedied. I do earnestly urge you, for the benefit of the
health of the District to immediately carry out the Bye-laws
relating to houses let in lodgings. These Bye-laws, passed by your
Authority and sanctioned, remain a dead letter. The Bye-laws of
your Authority are under revision by a sub-committee, so no doubt
this question will have its careful attention
The Necessity for Covering Site of Houses with
some Impermeable Material.
Last year I drew attention to the importance of rendering a
house free from dampness by covering the site with concrete.
During the year no opportunity has been lost in supplying concrete
beneath the floors of houses where the ground showed signs of
dampness, so as to remedy any injury to health of inhabitants from
dampness. In all 43 houses have complied with the notice requiring
site to be covered with concrete.
Dampness of Site of Dwelling Houses Caused by
Wet State of Ground.
Your Bye-laws provide that in case of building site being damp
the ground shall be drained by suitable means. In parts of the
District where buildings are about to be put up. it is of the greatest
importance that the sites should be drained, in order to prevent
dampness. It is necessary that this matter should receive your
careful consideration, as the ground contains a considerable amount
of water, and an undrained soil is highly injurious to health. If
an authority is wanted for this, the late Sir J. Simon, Medical
Officer to the Privy Council states that a damp state of soil
answers the legal definition of a "Nuisance," and Sanitary
Authorities "are bound to provide that such a state shall not
continue through want of proper constructions for the drainage."
The Want of Cleansing Gully Traps from Time to Time.
In the course of my inspections I have been struck with the
fact of the utmost disregard the public pay to traps, provided on
their private drains, to prevent pollution of the atmosphere of the
house with sewer gas. In some cases I have traced sore throat
to the dirty state of traps; at times, especially the kitchen sink
trap is coated with a thick black layer of fat and scum giving off