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63
the Royal Arsenal, although the smoke emitted would have
justified proceedings against a private firm, it was so slight
compared with previous years, and with the smoke of the Dockyard
chimneys, that no action was taken.
19. Defective Light.—The importance of light in dwellingrooms
in preventing disease was pointed out in my last annual
report. In 108 houses new windows were supplied, or existing
windows enlarged, or other works carried out for improving the
light of inhabited rooms and passages.
At one recently built block of tenement houses called Scotch
Flats, certain of the rooms were found to be very dark, the
light being obstructed by a balcony and gangway forming the
approach to the block. The light was improved by making a
window in the wall between the dark rooms and the adjoining
rooms. I pointed out that this block complied with the requirements
of the Building Act, and that this fact shewed that the
Act required amendment so as to make it impossible for
similarly dark houses to be erected in future. This defect in
the Building Act was communicated to the L.C.C.
Out of the 57 house to house inspections which I made, 23
houses were found to have dark rooms and passages. Although
a dark passage is a less serious nuisance than a dark dwellingroom,
it most certainly is a nuisance and injurious to health,
especially in houses occupied by two or more families, for it
will not be kept clean, and may thus convey infection.
20. Want of proper and sufficient Water Closets.—Every
house must have a proper and sufficient water closet, and
houses occupied by more than one family must have one water
closet for every twelve persons. Beyond this numerical