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Nuisances Removal Act, for England, 1855, and all Amending
Acts. The Committee meets for the purposes of the Acts once a
week, and notices are issued upon the immediate authority of the
Committee, which simply reports its proceedings to your Vestry.
Summonses continue to be heard by the Justices sitting in Petty
Sessions at the Vestiy Hall. It were to be desired that the
Justices would place sanitary cases at the top, instead of, as
heretofore, at the bottom of their agenda, so that the several
Inspectors might be set free at a reasonable hour to go about their
ordinary work. The business of the Inspectors rarely occupies any
considerable length of time in Court, but on many occasions the
entire staff has been detained till 1 or 2 p.m., waiting for
their cases to be called. The Justices doubtless would pay due
regard to any application on the subject by your Vestry. They
would also, I believe, consent, if requested, to hold a mid-monthly
meeting for hearing sanitary cases. The duties of the Magistrates
in this department of judicial work have increased considerably,
owing to the Chelsea Vestry and the Fulham District Board of
Works having to some extent followed the example of your Vestry
in bringing their cases before the Court. The Magistrates in the
Tower Hamlets Division, influenced by the practice of the Justices
in the Kensington division, have arranged to hold a fortnightly
meeting for the purpose of dealing with Bethnal Green sanitary
cases. Application was made to me by the magistrate to whose
initiative this action is due, to know how the system worked in
Kensington, and it afforded me much satisfaction to be able to
speak favourably of the results. It would be well, in the interest
of public health, if the Justices in every Division would take the
same interest in this description of work.
The Local Government Board and Sanitary Authorities.—
With the view of informing sanitary authorities on the extent and
limitations of their powers, the Local Government Board, issued
in December, 1883, a circular letter dealing with "Dwellings of
the Labouring Classes in the Metropolis," and accompanied by
(a) Digest of provisions as to Removal of Nuisances
(Metropolis).