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nuisances liable to be dealt with summarily: e.g., any cistern so foul
or in such a state as to be injurious or dangerous to health is a
"nuisance." The power of putting in force the sanitary clauses
of the "water regulations " should have been conferred on the
Sanitary Authority, to enable them to secure that cisterns be so
placed as to be accessible for inspection and cleansing, and to
secure the abolition of waste-pipes, &c. By section 24 (1) an
occupied house without a water supply is defined to be a nuisance.
Under existing law, where constant supply is given, a house
having a good water supply, but being without the "prescribed
fittings" is a "nuisance but if it has the prescribed fittings and
no water it is not: the nuisance has to be proved! There is no
provision forbidding the cutting-off of the water supply to a house
for non-payment of the rate or otherwise. Section 24 (2) forbids
the occupation of a newly-erected house until the Sanitary
Authority have certified that it has a proper water supply.
Foul water closets, drains, ash-pits and dung-pits are added
to the list of " nuisances " liable to be dealt with summarily.
The bye-laws to be framed under section 9 will, it is hoped,
suffice to prevent nuisance in the conveyance through streets of
manure and every other kind of offensive matter. It is not
beyond hope that we may be able to abolish sunken dung-pits.
Proceedings for Nuisances.—Section 4 (1) will enable the
Sanitary Inspector to bring the existence of a nuisance to the
notice of any person who may be required to abate it, by serving
a written " intimation," which should properly be deemed to be the
notice of the Authority, so that further proceedings might, if
necessary, be taken by summons without delay. It will not be
necessary to specify the work required to be done for the abatement
of the nuisance (section 5 (2).)
Provision of Water Closets.—The powers of the Sanitary
Authority under existing law are considerably extended and
strengthened by section 20.