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30
SMOKE NUISANCE.
An important decision with reference to steam vessels and smoke nuisance
was obtained at the Greenwich Police Court on the 2nd October, when the
General Steam Navigation Company were convicted and fined for the sending
forth of' black smoke from the chimney or funnel of their s.s. " Eagle " in
such quantities as to be a nuisance. Public Health (London) Act, 1891,
Sec. 24 (b). Application for a summons had not previously been made
under this section, but the magistrate held that the shipowner was liable, and
convicted the owners (see Appendix L).
A list of the Notices which have been served under this section will be
found in the body of this Report, but no further prosecutions have been
found fo be necessary.
I would call attention to the method of working of the sections of the
Public Health (London) Act, 1891, relating to the abatement of Nuisances
and the service of Notices.
On receipt of complaint of a nuisance, such nuisance must be investigated,
and upon your officers being satisfied of the existence of a nuisance, the same
is reported to your Worshipful Committee, and if the evidence is considered
satisfactory, instructions are given that a Statutory Notice shall be served.
In practice this does not work well, e.g., the vessel may be lying near one of
the bridges or other public place, creating a serious nuisance. To carry out
strictly the above method would mean that the nuisance would continue for
some time without any action being possible. The position is one requiring
careful consideration. Meanwhile the practice adopted is to write a formal
letter calling upon the persons responsible for the nuisance to abate the same
within a definite period.
In the case of the "Eagle" above mentioned, the nuisance was first
reported on the 23rd July, and by the instructions of your Committee
Statutory Notice was served on the 25th July. Subsequent recurrences of
the nuisance were reported, but it was not until the 10th September that the
facts of the non-compliance with the Notice could be reported. Then it was
ordered that a summons be applied for, which was done, and conviction
obtained, as stated, on the 2nd October. The season for these steamboats
was then over, and the owners could regard a conviction with equanimity.
The owners of the various pleasure boats plying on the Thames have been
notified of the conviction of the master of the s.s. " Eagle," and warned that
should a nuisance arise from the funnels of their steamers in the course of the
next season, the facts would be reported to your Worshipful Committee with
a view to such action being taken as may be deemed necessary.