Transactions of the Sanitary Institute of Great Britain Volume 5 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1884 Excerpt: ...as to duties of adjoining owners, &c, deals almost exclusively with securing stability and the prevention of fires, health matters being, as may be implied from the date, almost entirely lost sight of. A recent Amendment Act, 1879, enables the Metropolitan Board of Works to make bye-laws as to, amongst other matters, foundations and materials for walls. But these are not all important matters, and when it is borne in mind that the Metropolitan Board of Works has no medical adviser, and that the bye-laws it makes have to be confirmed, not by the Local Government Board but by the Home Secretary, who also has no medical department, is it surprising that sanitary matters do not form an important part of the Building Acts? In London the vestries, acting under the old Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855, have control over drains of houses, and this might be sufficient if it were effectually and uniformly applied through competent officers. But vestry surveyors are not ordinarily a very well-informed class of men, and as the Act merely says, everything is to be either "sufficient" or "to the satisfaction of the vestry," and does not prescribe definitely what is to be required, it is of little real use. In the provinces, except where there is a local building Act, i.e., where the authority is above being advised by the Local Government Board, and is rich enough to get special Parliamentary powers, they obtain bye-laws under the 157th section of the Public Health Act, 1875. These may be made by any urban authority and, with the consent of the Local Government Board, by any rural sanitary authority also. In the latter case it is usual for the bye-laws to be applied to certain parts of the rural sanitary district--parts which are not sufficie...