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67
SANITARY.
There are now only two licensed slaughter-houses in the Parish,
and the cowsheds which formerly existed have been altogether
abolished. The slaughter-houses having been well kept during the
previous year, the license to the same was renewed by the Justices
in each case.
Among other localities which have received special attention
during the past year, St. James's Market has been under consideration
on several occasions. Upon a report from the Sanitary
Committee relative to a complaint of the alleged unsanitary
condition of the Market, the Vestry directed the attention of the
Commissioners of Woods, &c., the ground landlords of the property,
to the structural unsuitability of the premises for human habitation
in view of modern requirements; but the Commissioners stated
that as the property is let on lease for several years they did not
sec how they could take any action in the matter at present, unless
the leases are in any way disregarded. The Vestry also desire to
erect a public urinal in the Haymarket, with a view to prevent
the committing of nuisances in the passages leading to St. James's
Market; but in consequence of the objections which have been
raised to the placing of such a structure in the Haymarket, the
matter stands in abeyance for the. present.
By the Bakehouses (Metropolis) Act, 1863, the Vestry were
empowered to inspect and regulate bakehouses, but this power was
transferred, by the Factory and Workshops Act, 1878, to a
Government Department This transfer of authority has not
proved altogether satisfactory, the Government Inspector being
unable to visit the bakehouses so frequently as was the practice of
the Vestry's Inspector, and the Vestry are of opinion that if any
change in the law is made, the power vested in the Vestries and
District Boards by the Act of 1803 should revert to those bodies,
and that milkshops and dairies in the Metropolis should also be
placed under the supervision of the local sanitary authorities.
The Vestry have had under consideration a communication from
the Board of Works for the St. Olave District, suggesting that the
local authority should also have power to regulate and control the