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8
Water Supply.
The system of constant water supply to the poorer Districts of the Metropolis,
ought to he insisted on by the several local Boards, for it is the only
plan which will give the poor a sufficient quantity of wholesome water for
domestic use. All, or nearly all, the existing water-receptacles in the poor
localities are unfit for the purpose of storing water for drinking. They
should therefore be abolished, and a constant supply of water, direct from
the main, without the intervention of either butts or cisterns, should be
substituted.
It is with much pleasure that I am able to report that there are 72
water-waste preventers in this District, which afford a constant supply to
about 6000 pcor people.
Public Dust Bins.
There are about 160 public dust bins in this District, all of which the
contractor is bound to empty daily. The importance of the daily emptying
of the public dust bins cannot be overestimated, and it slioulJ be rigidly
enforced, for the smell of the contents of these receptacles, when they are
allowed to remain unomptied for a period longer than 24 or 30 hours, is
sometimes intolerable, and is a cause of ill health to persons living in the
vicinity of them. This is not to be wondered at when we find that the
public dust bins are made the receptacles of all sorts of refuse, such as
stinking fish, dead dogs and cats, poultices, pieces of filthy rags, and sometimes
even the contents of privies.
Workshop Regulation Act.
The Inspectors have inspected 38 workshops: Of these, 6 were found to
be overcrowded, 28 were in a dirty and unwholesome condition, and in no
case was there any other provision made for ventilation than by the windows,
which, in the winter, will probably bo kept closed. On revisiting the workshops,
it was found that the overcrowding had ceased, and the rooms had
been cleansed. The greater number of the workshops recently visited are
occupied by Jews, who employ several hands as tailors. The occupiers of
these workshops are for the most part willing to comply with the sanitary
regulations of the Workshop Act, but they strongly object to that portion of
the Act which prohibits them from working on Sundays. It will be necessary,
however, notwithstanding the dislike of the Jewish population to this
enactment, to enforce it. In my opinion, all the provisions of this Act,
which are not of a sanitary nature, should be enforced by the police, and the
duties of the Sanitary Inspectors ought to be confined to the carrying into
effect the provisions relating to the want of cleanliness, overcrowding,
defective ventilation, and insufficient privy accommodation.