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53
for the purpose of depositing and sifting upon it the dust
of their parish in the latter part of 1868; so that at the
time proceedings were taken against them they had been
carrying on operations there more than a year and a
half; Reed had begun depositing and sifting the dust of
some other South London parish on an adjoining plot
about 3 months before proceedings were commenced: and
Lipscomb, the Camberwell contractor, had begun to do
similarly for the Camberwell dust on another adjoining
plot of ground 6 or 8 weeks subsequently to Reed.
At the time when it was decided to put an end, if
possible, to these nuisances (the beginning of June, 1870),
about 60 cartloads (in round numbers) of dust were being
deposited daily, about 30 women were engaged in sifting,
and huge accumulations of sifted and unsifted dust covered
the whole space. The nuisance, which had been serious
when created by the Parish of Newington alone, was
now multiplied threefold, and had become unbearable to
the inhabitants of the neighbourhood; and, moreover,
threatened to increase rather than diminish.
With reference to the proceedings taken by the Vestry,
it is scarcely necessary to say more than that they were
essentially successful. The Vestry was supported by the
evidence of persons living on the spot, by that of several
of the local general practitioners, and especially by the
valuable evidence of Drs. Aldis, Druitt, and Letheby; and
Mr. Woolrych, after having himself inspected the locality
in question, made an order upon all three defendants
requiring them to abate the nuisance, and to remove all
existing accumulations. Various practical difficulties arose