View report page

14
spoke to the resident engineer, who appeared perfectly ignorant of
the nuisance to which the inhabitants had been subjected on the
previous evening and during the night. However, on the evening
of the 26th of October the stench was much abated, and as the
evening advanced, the sulphuretted hydrogen gradually disappeared.
Fifty-one deaths were registered in October, the mortality presenting
nothing remarkable. There were six inquests, two on the
bodies of persons found dead, and four on individuals accidentally
drowned.
Yours respectfully,
November, 1860. W. MURDOCH.
FIFTY-NINTH REPORT.
Gentlemen,
Since the last monthly meeting of this Board, vigilant attention
has been given to the Guano Sheds near the Plough Bridge. They
have been frequently visited at different hours of the day, and
although the Officers have not again actually witnessed the process
of cooking the fish, they have arrived on the premises immediately
after, and while the liquid resulting therefrom was being ladled
into casks; the nuisance has lessened and the complaints are fewer.
This improvement seems to be attributable to the fact, that the
fish now used are in a fresh state, and that some pains are taken to
cover the copper with boards and sacks while the steaming process
is in operation. The smell of fish may however generally be
perceived about the precincts of the building. To conclude, the
nuisance is much diminished, but not entirely abated.
Several attempts have also been made to enter the premises of
Mr. Salmon under the Brighton Railway arches, but they (the
premises) have been invariably found locked. The only response
to the various appeals for admission having been the barking of a
dog, evidently the sole inhabitant of the place.
Much of the dust heap to the north of the Plough Bridge has
been removed and the greater part of the remainder has been
sifted and is ready for removal, but the carting of house refuse to
the spot has recently recommenced, and a new accumulation is
being rapidly formed within forty feet of the northernmost house of
Napier's-place. At seven o'clock in the morning on the 29th of