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reported the matter to the Public Health Committee, and it
was then resolved that the drains he relaid and such other sanitary
provisions made, and that the cost of the work necessary
for that purpose be recovered from the owners. An arrangement
was afterwards entered into by the Council and the
owners whereby the latter, at their request, agreed to pay the
cost of the foregoing work, plus interest, in four quarterly
instalments. They are now doing this.
House Drainage.—The drainage systems and sanitary
arrangements of 44 houses have been entirely reconstructed,
and repairs or extensive amendments were carried out at 118
other houses.
It is very gratifying to me to be able to report that in
only one instance was it necessary to take legal proceedings to
enforce the abatement of a nuisance from defective drainage.
In this case a "nuisance order" was obtained from the
Magistrates who also imposed upon the defendant a penalty
of £1 8s. 6d., including costs, for failing to comply with the
statutory notice of the Local Authority, and ordered that the
work be completed within three days, in default of which a
further penalty of 10s. would be incurred.
The opinion I have expressed in previous reports as to the
unreliability of stoneware pipes as at present used for house
drainage, especially when in a clay soil, and the advantages
gained by the use of cast iron pipes, has been strengthened by
observations I have made during the year. It cannot be denied
that stoneware drains as at present constructed are unreliable,
and in many instances rapidly develop defects which render
them neither smoke nor water-tight. Property owners will be
well advised to use cast iron pipes for drainage; they will find
them in the end by far the cheaper method of construction, as
under ordinary circumstances they maintain a nearly permanently
water-tight drain.
House to House Inspection.—During the year house to
house surveys were carried out at 973 houses.
The following lists (a and b) show the particular streets
and the number of houses inspected in each, together with the
remedial works executed at 628 houses. In no case was it
found necessary to serve a closing order: —
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