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58
REMOVAL (OR NON-REMOVAL) OF STABLE MANURE.
In my annual reports for 1875 and 1876, I referred to the
nuisances arising from the neglect of the owners of horses to
remove with sufficient frequency and regularity the contents of
the dung pits, especially in mews, in conformity with the regulations
of your Vestry. These regulations require the pits to be
cleansed three times a week, viz., on alternate days; but as a matter
of fact the refuse in question is removed far less frequently and
at irregular intervals, and I pointed out the desirability of your
Vestry undertaking the removal of the manure, &c., as the law
enables you to do with the sanction of the owner, which sanction I
have reason to believe it would not be difficult to obtain if it were
understood that the penalties for non-compliance with the regulations
would be enforced. I also referred to the increased
value the addition of the manure would give to other refuse matter
as slop, dust, &c., when your Vestry, having dispensed with
the services of contractors, should be seeking a market for
street and other refuse. That time has now arrived, and as it
is most desirable on sanitary grounds that the regulations
should be carried out strictly, I trust steps will be taken to give
effect to my suggestion. That stable refuse has an appreciable
value is obvious, for your Vestry have accepted a tender for the
purchase of the stuff from the wharves and depots for one year, for
about the sum of £70.. There are nearly One hundred and fifty
mews in this parish, and the quantity of stable refuse must be
very great in the aggregate, thongh the produce of a single stable
can be of little value to the proprietor, or rather (as a rule) to his
coachman. I cannot but believe therefore that it would pay in a
commercial point of view to collect the stuff as proposed, and at
the least I would urge a fair trial of the plan under the direction
and supervision of the Wharves and Plant Committee.
HOUSE DRAINAGE.
The subject of house drainage has received considerable attention,
it having been prominently brought under the notice of your
Vestry in the form of a general statement, not wholly without
foundation, that the powers of the Metropolis Local Management
Acts relating thereto have not been fully exercised. The
Report of the Works, Sanitary, and General Purposes Committee,
to which it was referred to consider the "Principles of the Acts in
relation to house drainage, and as to the best means of giving
effect thereto,"shows that your Vestry have the power to require
that all house-drains and connected works shall be properly laid
and provided, and that all houses built, or to be built, shall be
provided with sufficient drainage, to be properly constructed of
suitable materials and under the supervision of your Vestry.