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162
Hospital. Upon coming into court his Lordship said he found a
nuisance to exist, and, with the consent of the defendants, he
stopped the case, delivering judgment in favour of the plaintiff,
with costs.
I have referred to the above interesting and important actions
in view of the certainty of complaints coming, in the ensuing
summer and autumn, from inhabitants of this parish, arising from
the noxious fumes produced by the burning of bricks in the
Potteries, and in adjoining parishes, and to point out that the
nuisance can be restrained by the action of the Court, upon the
application of private individuals, or upon the application of a
public body, like your Vestry, and whether the nuisance is caused
by brick-burning, originating within or beyond the boundaries of
the parish.
As it appears that nuisance may be prevented by the adoption
of a particular method of burning bricks, in kilns, the subject
would seem to be a proper one to be dealt with by legislation.
The business of a brick-maker is an "offensive business,"
although it cannot be brought within the provisions of the
Slaughter Houses (Metropolis) Act, 1874—and legislation may
be necessary in order to bring it under regulation and control.
The proper authority for promoting such legislation would be the
Metropolitan Board of Works, and I have reason for believing
that the Board would be willing to take up the matter were it
encouraged to do so by the several Vestries and District Boards
of Works. Their views probably will soon be known, the Society
of Medical Officers of Health having recently drawn the attention
of the Board to the subject in a communication to the effect
(1) that there are sufficient reasons for regulating this tradeby
bye-laws as other offensive trades have been, with such manifest
advantage to the public, and (2) that owing to the considerable
distance which these effluvia travel, and to the fact that many
of the brickfields contributing to the nuisance are outside the
Metropolitan area, legislation should be general, and apply to
areas within a specified distance of centres of population.