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is positively necessary to resort to this method of drainage,
the pipes should be well cemented together, and carried at a,
sufficient depth in the earth ; and to make this additionally
secure, they should be ventilated by shafts outside the house.
1365.–I would again mention to you the condition of
drains as a subject which demands constant care.
Under the present system of drainage, houses are supplied
with sinks, water-closets, baths, &c., within the house,
all of which communicate directly with the sewer.
These communications are essentially chimneys to the
drain, and, unless the sewer be most carefully ventilated, are
constantly apt (especially when the internal air of the
dwelling is rarified by warmth) to pour poisonous gases into
the house.
In many cases this happens from carelessness in trapping,
or by leaving traps to drains open, and, aided by the
neglect to ventilate houses at night, is doubtless a frequent
source of illness and loss of life.
1867.—I am not aware that any register exists which
would accurately detail the plan and method of drainage of
every house in the district.
1867 —-A ledgered list of all houses should be formed,
with reference to a numbered plan.
1867.—Although a large amount of beneficial work has
been done as regards the sewage of the district, still some
parts are without drainage, by which I mean that houses are
only drained into cesspools, which would require periodical
pumping in the clay portion of the district, or they would
overflow and deposit their decomposing contents upon the
adjacent land or into ditches ; or in the gravel portions of the
district their contents would percolate through the soil, and
contaminate adjacent wells.
These cesspools are seldom ventilated, and the gaseous
products of decomposition are liable to find their way into
dwelling houses.