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usually left open, affording facilities to any person who desires to
dispose of any objectionable matter.
Much time has been given and many Notices served for the
abatement of nuisances, but it is with difficulty that the work of
abatement is carried out.
SMOKE NUISANCES.
Observations have been taken on 152 occasions of the
emission of smoke from chimneys, as compared with 156 for the
previous year. This form of nuisance is seldom seen in a serious
form in the Borough, there being few manufacturers who have
chimney shafts to emit smoke.
On no occasion was the nuisance bad enough to warrant any
action beyond an ordinary letter being sent to the offenders.
MORTUARIES.
The mortuaries have been regularly inspected and always
found in a most excellent condition. The Central Mortuary on
Town Hall site is fully equipped with all necessary appliances.
There have been 92 bodies received and 55 post-mortems during
the year, the figure for 1913 being 98 bodies, 65 post-mortems.
VAN DWELLERS AND SQUATTERS.
The geographical position of East Ham to London affords
facilities for gipsy trading, and I am afraid that while there is
unfenced land in the Borough these nomads will continue to pest
the inhabitants who live near the sites they select for squatting.
On four occasions legal proceedings were instituted and
convictions obtained in three instances. In June an elderly
couple, alleged to be brother and sister, squatted on a piece of
vacant land in Green Street. Every effort made to get them
removed failed, and a summons was applied for and granted.
When the case was heard the Stipendiary Magistrate adjourned
the case twice to allow the squatters to remove. This gracious
act also failed, and a fine of 10s. and costs was imposed or 14
days' imprisonment. The defendant went to prison. During his
incarceration his sister held the citadel. Subsequent to his
release, as he would not remove, fresh summonses were taken
out against both squatters, and the magistrate imposed a fine