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57
(but not within the St. Giles' District) of smells arising
from the public sewers. Upon examination it was discovered
that when the late Metropolitan Board of Works
formed the new Charing Cross Road, the old sewer, which
ran along the centre of Crown Street and took the drainage
of the houses in that street, was not done away with, but
was left to take the drainage of the houses on the west side
of the new road. This sewer terminated with a head wall
at a point near to Falconberg Court, a few yards south of
Oxford Street, the flow of sewage in it was very slight,
being only that which came from the houses on the west
side of Charing Cross Road, and a quantity of deposit had
consequently accumulated in it. Certain of these premises
discharged considerable quantities of hot water into the
sewer, which so raised its temperature, that the sewer was
at all times so hot and full of steam as to prevent men
entering it fur cleansing purposes.
The matter was referred to your Works Committee, who
gave it much consideration, and, on its recommendation your
Board ordered the construction of a short length of brick
sewer to connect the new Charing Cross Road sewer with
the old ( rown Street sewer, for the purpose of giving access
to it and for cleansing the latter and to assist its ventilation,
and also the construction of a flushing tank at the
head of the old sewer, constructed so as to discharge automatically,
at regular intervals, a considerable body of water,
and thus prevent accumulation of deposit again occurring,
and also to lower the temperature of the sewer. The work
was carried out by the Board's own workmen, under my
direction, at a cost of £126 8s., it was completed on the
25th March last, and no further complaints of smell have
been made.