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effected last autumn; and that the flooring even of the room in
question had been removed, in order to discover whether any
thing offensive could be situated beneath it. Having met by
appointment the Surveyor to the Police Force, I was informed
however, that the water closet of which I have spoken had
been assumed (apparently on good grounds, for it was not offensive,
had been in use for years, and had never" been obstructed)
to communicate with the Sewer, but that the communication
had never been traced. Guided by the well authenticated
existence of offensive smells, and by the nature of the diseases
which had prevailed, I strongly urged the importance of ascertaining
positively whether some neglected cesspool or something
of the sort might not after all really exist in connection with the
closet, and the Surveyor readily agreed to order the necessary
examination to be made. This was carried into execution about
a fortnight ago; and it was found that the closet was not connected
with the Sewer at all, but that its discharge pipe emptied
itself into a cesspool between four and five feet wide, which
had apparently been an old neglected well; and that the mouth
of this well, covered only by a couple of stones, was under the
the house, and within a few feet of the room to which I have
alluded. Ten feet in depth of extremely foetid soil were taken
away ; but to what depth the accumulation actually extended
was not ascertained, for below this it had become so hard with
age, and so difficult of removal that it was thought best to leave
it, and cover it with lime. I need scarcely add that the cesspool
has now been effectually abolished, that the necessary
drainage works have been completed, and that so far as present
experience goes all noxious smells have ceased.
The importance of this case, not only as it affects the