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9. Offensive Trades. In September an Italian was found
carrying on the trade of fish skin dresser in Tile Kiln Lane. The Council
gave him notice to discontinue the business, which he did in December.
This is an interesting trade which provides fish skins freed from scales and
dried for the brewers; the material is cut up into fine pieces and used like
the more expensive isinglass for "clearing up" of beer and ale. Unless conducted
in a building properly constructed and carried out in a cleanly
manner, this kind of business becomes truly and intensely "offensive" to
the neighbours.
About March the collection of fish offal was placed in the hands of
a fish manure-making company, and the change appears economical and
satisfactory.
Offensive Trade By-Laws. On May 8th, the Local
Government Board confirmed the Order made by the Council on February
27th, 1912, declaring each of the following trades, businesses or manufactures,
to be an offensive trade, namely:—blood drier, fat melter or fat
extractor, tanner, leather dresser, glue maker, size maker, gut scraper, fish
frier, fish skin dresser, fish curer, rag, bone and skin dealer, manufacturer of
manure from fish offal, blood, spent hops, beans or other putrescible animal or
vegetable matter. On May 28th the Clerk reported this to the Council
and stated that By-Laws regulating the above trades would be framed and
submitted to them and the Local Government Board in due course. In
June, on the recommendation of the Sanitary Committee, the Clerk and
M.O.H. were instructed to prepare draft by-laws, applicable to this district
as regards Offensive Trades and also as regards Kuackers under the Town Improvement
Clauses Act, 1847, and to suggest amendments to the By-laws affecting
slaughterhouses, so as to bring them up to modern requirements. In July,
draft by-laws, re thirteen offensive trades, were submitted to the Sanitary
Committee, as settled by the Clerk and the M.O.H. On the Committee's
recommendation, the Clerk and M.O.H. and the Chairman of the Committee,
were associated in the presentation of these by-laws to the Local Government
Board for confirmation. We decided, that to gain experience and save
time, the by-laws concerning one trade (gutscraper) should be dealt with
first. During the summer vacation, a letter, dated August 6th, was received
from the Local Government Board stating that they were not prepared to
confirm at once any by-laws other than those of their own model. As this
meant the deletion from our draft of some bylaws of extreme importance for
regulating the trade and which are already in existence in London County,
my Council thought that further effort should be made to obtain the consent
of the Board to the by-laws as proposed. I was therefore instructed to
obtain an interview with the officers of the Board, for the purpose of