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demanded the warrant as a right, relying:— on the wording
of sections 1., which provides that it shall be the duty
of every Sanitary Authority to cause to be made from
time to time inspection of their district, with a view to
ascertain what nuisances exist calling for abatement: on
section 2 the "nuisance clause" ; on section 40 giving power
to Sanitary Authorities to enter and examine drains and
sanitary fittings ; and on section 10 stating the right of the
Sanitary Authority to enter premises to examine
nuisances.
The Magistrate refused the application on the ground,
that in point of law there was no evidence before him of
reasonable ground for such entry within the meaning of
section 115, sub-section 3; he, however, stated a case, the
result of which is that the magisterial decision has been upheld
and the appeal dismissed with costs. The following is the
material portions of the Judgment:—
*Mr. JUSTICE LAWRANCE : " I think the Magistrate
arrived at a perfectly proper conclusion in this case. The
application was made under sections 10 and 40—either one
or the other of them, or both—to enter into this particular
house; under one section for the purpose of examining as
to the existence of a nuisance requiring to be dealt with
summarily, and under section 40, which says that ' the
Sanitary Authority may examine any of the following works,
that is to say, any water closet, earth closet, privy, ash-pit,
cesspool,' and so forth. Now, the application was made by
the Appellant in this case, who was the Sanitary Inspector
for the Parish of St. Pancras ; and she gave notice to the
lady who was the head of this school, that she desired to
inspect, and was refused admission to the school for the
purpose of inspecting. Then it became necessary for her
to have recourse to section 115, and to go before a
Magistrate ; and going before a Magistrate, it was her duty
to satisfy him, by Information on oath, that there was
reasonable ground for such entry; that is to say, the entry
which she desired to make. The object was, I suppose,
to see whether there was, under section 10, a nuisance
liable to be dealt with summarily under the Act, or to see
whether all the taps and drains and so forth were in good
*Minutes of Evidence, published by the Vestry of St. Pancras.