London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Kensington 1888

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]

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136
Committee thought it well to ascertain the views of the several
Vestries, etc. In compliance with the request of your Vestry,
I reported fully on the subject,* my principal contention being
that the nuisance can be dealt with effectually only by regulation
of the trades, by "bye-laws entailing an adequate and a
fixed penalty for offences bye laws made by the
Board, but the carrying out of which should be entrusted to the
Local Sanitary Authorities." Such bye-laws, I said, "with
respect to offensive substances of animal origin, should make
provision with regard (1) to storage vessels, which should be of
metal, impervious, and covered; (2) to removal in iron tank
vans, or, better still, in the storage vessels themselves; (3) to
time of daily removal; and (4) to measures for disposal of the
refuse." 1 added that it was "open to consideration whether
the duty of removing all offensive substances should not be
imposed upon the Sanitary Authority at the reasonable cost of
the producers thereof."
Your Vestry approved my report, and forwarded it to the
Board (12th December, 1887), together with a letter, in which
it was observed that "the success of the Board's Regulations,
made under the provisions of the Slaughter Houses (Metropolis)
Act, 1874, suggested the course most likely to succeed in
preventing nuisance in connection with the storage, the
collection and the conveyance of offensive material through
streets, viz., by the creation of bye-laws to regulate in these
respects the trades, &c., which involve the production of refuse
of an offensive character."
The Board's existence having been threatened by the
introduction of the Local Government Bill in 1888, no legislation
was initiated in that session. Indeed, I believe that the
Committee made no report on the subject. The materials
collected are available for the use of the County Council,
* Vide Annual Report for 1887, pp. 176—89 (inclusive).