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second and more important action, (Lowndes v. Pawley), lias
been recently tried in the Court of Queen's Bench. A married
lady died last year from the efleets of blood poisoning induced by
sewer gas, which escaped into her house at Croydon, owing to
defective sanitary arrangements. The lady had an income of
£1,000 a-year which died with her, and her husband brought an
action against the owner of the house (an architect) to recover
damages to cover expenses incurred, and compensation for the
loss of property sustained by his wife's death. The defendant, who
built the house, had assured the plaintiff that it was in a perfect
sanitary state, as 110 doubt he believed it was, and yet it was
discovered that the joints in the soil-pipe were defective, allowing
foul air to pass; that a trap in connection with a rain-pipe,
supposed to exclude foul air, was broken and useless, and that a
drain was obstructed by broken bricks found within it. A peculiar
feature in the case was that the drainage appears to have
received the approval of the local sanitary authority, but this fact
did not avail to relieve the defendant from his responsibility, and
the Jury awarded damages to the amount of £2,000, in addition
to the amount claimed as expenses, besides rescinding the agreement
as to the house. Owners of house property, and especially
owners of unhealthy houses, would do well to take note of these
decisions, which are not likely to be forgotten by persons who may
have the misfortune to find themselves in occupation of defectively
drained houses, and to be sufferers in consequence. The decisions,
regarded from a public health point of view, cannot fail to have
good results, even if Clause 13 of the Housing Bill should fail to
become law.
REFUSE.
Great difficulty is constantly experienced in preventing nuisance
from accumulations of offensive matters coming under the general
description of "Refuse." The difficulty is common to all parts of
the Metropolis and calls for legislative interference for its abatement.
With a view to such steps being taken I brought the
subject under the notice of the Society of Medical Officers of
H