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42.
There were several snowstorms during the months of
February and March, but no very great public
vcnience was caused thereby.
REMOVAL OF TRADE REFUSE.
The right of the Dust Contractor to require payment for the
removal of trade refuse having been questioned on more than
one occasion, the subject was referred to the Sanitary
Committee for consideration. A report was presented by the
Committee to the Vestry on the 12th August, pointing out
that following the provisions of the Metropolis Local
Management Act, the contract for the removal of refuse excludes
brick rubbish, drain soil, and the refuse of trades from
the operation of the contract.
The Act of Parliament provides that if any scavenger is
required to remove the refuse of any trade, manufacture, or
business, or of any building materials, he shall be entitled to
reasonable remuneration. In case of dispute, two justices or
a police magistrate may decide not only whether any specific
refuse comes within the definition of the refuse of a trade,
any such refuse.
These provisions seem to be equitable and reasonable, for
while they do not prevent any tradesman disposing of the
refuse of his business to the best advantage, either at a profit
or at the least possible cost, they enable him, in the event of
his not being able to make a more advantageous arrangement,
to require the dust contractor to remove such refuse at a
reasonable rate. It would be manifestly unfair to saddle the
ratepayers at large with the cost of removing trade refuse for
a section of the parishioners.
CONTRACTS FOR WORKS AND MATERIALS.
The contracts entered into in 1884 for a period of three
years, terminable at the end of the first or second year, at the
option of the Vestry, are still in force.