method of getting rid of it at once and for ever? I am glad to state that we have decided to convey the Dublin unsaleable refuse to sea in a hopper barge.

The cost of this vessel will be 5,950/. She is specially designed to meet all our requirements, and is now almost ready for launching. A suitable and convenient berth has been obtained on the river near the Swivel Bridge, and is now dredged out to the required depth. A jetty, 120 feet in length, and 16 feet in width, has been there built, and upon it a five-ton steam crane with novel and efficient loading appliances has been erected for the purpose of transferring mud as well as dry refuse direct from the scavenge carts to the barge, with which we propose to commence operations in a few weeks.

The following are the principal dimensions of the vessel :

000000

Ft.

In.

116

6

30

12

50

18

2

9

She will carry about 340 tons of refuse, and the trip to the place of deposit off Howth and back will take less than five hours in average weather. By this means the refuse will be conveyed to its ultimate destination at an estimated cost of fivepence per ton.

TENEMENT HOUSES.

In nearly all our large cities, Dublin not excepted, the material change caused by the exodus of the better classes to rural or suburban residences has necessitated alterations in the urban houses now occupied by the lower classes, and more especially improvements in the sanitary accommodation provided for them, but in many instances these improvements have not been effected.

The drains, closets, ashbins, water-supply, and paving in the yards connected with the tenement houses forming the dwellings of the working population are frequently defective or inadequate. In every tenement yard there ought to be-1. A proper house-drain not less than 9 inches in diameter, carefully laid with a proper fall to the main sewer, and properly jointed. 2. A large gully-trap connected with the sewer for the reception of slops. 3. Two closets, one for each sex, with a cistern capable of containing not less than four gallons of water. 4. A covered ashbin not less than 5 feet by 4 feet by 2 feet 6 inches. 5. An impervious surface of asphalte, or paving sets grouted with tar, laid with a proper fall to the gully-grate. And 6. In addition to the ordinary water-tap, a tap to which a hose can be attached for washing out the yard should be provided.

With regard to water-closet accommodation, in the absence of compulsory power, it is a difficult matter to induce landlords to go to the expense necessary to provide good substantial closets, with cisterns sufficiently large, and adequate sewers laid as they ought to be; when all these have been provided, it is still more difficult to train a population to use water-closets without abusing them; and it is discouraging to householders to find closets broken or choked with rags or straw soon after erection. Yet withal we regard the water-carriage system as the cleanliest and best that can be adopted in a city circumstanced like Dublin, but at the same time we regard strict supervision over the erection of the closets with their sewers and water connections as an absolute necessity.

A large gully trap conveniently situated in every tenement yard is also requisite, and, unless such is provided, the slops must find their way into the ash bin, as they frequently do.

I have said that we have both fixed ashbins and portable dustbins in use in Dublin, and the latter system is rapidly extending. The daily removal of house refuse by portable dustbins of a uniform pattern is a system admirably adapted

for the removal of shop sweepings and dry house refuse in the main thoroughfares, and it also works well where you have a population living in self-contained houses or cottages, each provided with a water-closet. But from experience in Glasgow and Dublin, I consider it unsuitable for the lower class tenement houses, where in many cases the people have not yet learned to put the slops into the sewer and the solid refuse into the ashbins.

The fixed ashbins now being erected in the tenement yards of Dublin, at the instigation of the sanitary authority, are calculated to contain the house refuse for one week or thereby. The walls are 9-inch brickwork, the roof galvanised corrugated iron or slates, the floor is from 3 to 6 inches over the level of the yard, and the floor and sides are rendered water-tight with cement. Its advantages are (1) a child can throw refuse into it, (2) it is easily cleansed, (3) no filthy water is allowed to escape and permeate the subsoil, and (4) in the event of portable bins being used at a future date, it will form a stand and shed for them.

Necessary as the sewering and paving of private yards undoubtedly is to domestic cleanliness, the proper formation and drainage of the public streets in like manner must invariably precede efficient street scavenging. I regard a macadamised street, suitable as it may be for light traffic, quite out of place in the centre of a large city, where no amount of attention will keep it entirely free from its usual accompaniments of dust and mud.

PAVING.

A street calculated to sustain heavy traffic should have a good foundation of concrete carefully laid to the required levels. If the surface is formed of granite sets these should be carefully dressed, so that they can be placed close together, and the interstices should be grouted with cement or pitch. Wooden blocks, well laid and grouted, also make a good street surface, less noisy and more pleasant than granite, for a city that can afford to pay for their frequent renewal. The blocks should be carefully selected before creosoting, otherwise they wil wear unevenly. Provided with a good surface of granite or wood, street scavenging, though requiring constant attention, is comparatively an easy matter, and can be efficiently accomplished at a moderate cost.

The vegetable supply of Dublin is a matter which also affects the cleansing operations. An excellent supply of fresh vegetables has created a large demand, and they form an important item in the diet of the lower classes. But, unfortunately for the cleansing department, the cabbages and other vegetables are brought into the city wholly untrimmed and consequently in the height of the vegetable season the department is called on to remove per week not less than 200 loads of vegetable refuse. Dr. MacCabe, L.G.I., read a paper on

THE WATER-SUPPLY AND DRAINAGE OF SMALL TOWNS IN IRELAND,

in which he dealt in detail with the difficulty of making arrangements for the supply of pure water for the use of the inhabitants of the smaller towns in this country. He also dealt with the difficulty in arranging the sewerage levels, so as to provide against the pollution of the water courses. The great difficulty was the cost and the limited area to which taxation could be applied. He suggested that the cost should be so divided as to fall in equal proportions upon a contributory area. His remarks were confined to small urban populations varying between 500 and 6,000.

Mr. H. Percy Boulnois, M. Inst. C. E., read a paper

upon-

ISOLATION v. VENTILATION. (Published at page 144.)

DISCUSSION.

Mr. Dodson said that sewerage ventilation would not be perfect until it was arranged upon the same principle as

coal mines. He did not think that rain-water pipes should be used as ventilators.

Mr. Field thought the proposition was a dangerous one. Mr. Stirling thought that if the exterior ventilation was interfered with, the noxious gases would be sucked into the houses by the heat of the ranges.

Mr. D. Emptage (Margate) saw no objection to ventilation shafts being laid against the houses.

Mr. J. Wallis Peggs advocated the thorough ventilation of the sewers from end to end.

Dr. Carpenter related an instance which had come under his observation where catarrh had been caused by the emanations from an opening in a sewer.

Sir R. Rawlinson said that he had recommended in his recent directions that sewers should be divided into sections. Traps should be provided to prevent the gases in the lower districts from coming up to the higher ones.

Mr. Boulnois, C. E., spoke of the limited number of inspectors which were provided by the Local Government Board, and expressed the opinion that they were entirely too few to do adequately the work required of them. (See SANITARY RECORD for Sept. 15, p. 108.)

THE OBJECTS AND WORK OF THE DUBLIN LADIES' SANITARY ASSOCIATION.

The writer, a lady whose name did not transpire, remarked that it was now fully acknowledged how important was a healthy condition of life for the happiness of the people. It was one of woman's special works to visit the poor, and there was, perhaps, no cause in which woman's tact and sympathy would be of more value than in instructing the poor in the simpler truths of the sanitary science.' There were many things which could be noticed by a lady visitor, as a woman amongst women, which would be passed over by regular sanitary officials, or, if noticed by them, perhaps be objected to as an interference and perfectly unheeded. The sanitary inspector could not enter into the question of personal cleanliness, the proper care, clothing, and feeding of children. It must be very difficult for the people to carry out any cleanliness in the dens in which they live, but they must have the knowledge given them and the belief in its efficiency instilled into them before they would even make the attempt. The hardest part of the work was to persuade the lower classes to try cleanliness. The ladies could also act as 'go betweens' between the tenants of those wretched places and the landlords. In fact, the good that might be done by ladies' sanitary associations if efficiently worked, and worked by those who took a thorough interest in them, was incalculable, but great tact and discretion were required. Lest any ladies should be deterred by fear of any disagreeable opposition from becoming district visitors, it was well it should be known that the people were always glad to see them. There were several similar associations founded, and recently one had been formed in Australia. They were all doing good work. The National Health Society had published a large number of pamphlets, &c., on sanitary subjects, and answered a mass of inquiries; and many of the pamphlets were to be translated into Japanese, Chinese, and modern Greek. The National Health Society has also taken up the questions of seats in shops, early closing, playgrounds for children, bread reform, Matrons' Aid Institute, &c. The Dublin Institute had only made a commencement. It was founded in 1881, and the Countess Spencer, who had on every possible occasion shown her sympathy and given her aid to the society, was now its president. Perhaps the most practical and important portion of the work of the association was the district visiting. Unhappily the districts at present worked numbered only two, owing to the want of visitors, which is the more surprising, as happily in this work 'creed' makes no difference. Protestants and Roman Catholics work together with the approval of clergy on both sides. Surely there must be some women in Dublin who are not tied to houses and children of their own to look after, and

who could undertake the work, and find occupation and pleasure in it. Ladies are more easily found as district visitors for other purposes, and possibly it is a better and easier way than for sanitary work; but if it be remembered that 'cleanliness is next to godliness,' and that, in fact, they must and do go together, some would be found to work in the straight and narrow way,' which would lead to other and higher work. In conclusion, the writer said her object had been to bring the subject under public notice, and to ask for workers, and not to write a scientific paper, which would be open to discussion.

Dr. Charles Cameron said that a larger proportion of the population of Dublin, which amounted to 250 000, was in a state of more abject poverty than was to be found in any city in England. You could walk for miles in London without meeting a really bad street or a number of dilapi dated houses. But you could not pass out of any of the fashionable squares of Dublin without going through streets in which the people were steeped in wretchedness and poverty. That was general throughout this decaying city. The purlieus of Dublin were worse than those of London. It was therefore nonsensical to compare the communities in the two cities. It was surprising to him that the deathrate in Dublin was only 27 per 1,000, and not about 33 per 1,000; and he was happy to find that, though it exceeded the death-rate of London, it was lower than the death-rates of most great cities on the Continent. He heartily approved of the objects of the Dublin Ladies' Sanitary Association. Few were better qualified than he to express an opinion of their work. He had noticed how frequently they had called the attention of the sanitary authorities to neglected places. He thought the large mortality in this city arose from the insufficient feeding and insufficient clothing of the children. This remark applied not merely to the poor, but also to well-to-do people. He had been surprised to find women of the middle class well and comfortably clothed themselves, while the arms and legs of the children whom they were dragging out for their miserable walks were purple from cold. The Ladies' Sanitary Association had a great work to perform, and he was surprised so few ladies were taking an interest in it. Great as had been the work done up to the present, vast was the amount which still remained to be accomplished. Thirtythree thousand out of the 54,000 families residing in the city were living, on an average, in one and a half rooms per family. He thought the best way to improve Dublin would be to improve two-thirds of the inhabitants off the face of the earth. He took some little credit to himself for having by persistent agitation induced the putting in force of the Artisans' Dwellings Act. They could not expect landlords to provide decent dwellings for people so sunk in poverty that perhaps they could only pay one week's rent in every four weeks. What he had always contended was that it was the duty of the municipal authorities to provide dwellings for the lowest and most wretched stratum of the population. There were 10,000 people in the city requiring house accommodation who could not afford to pay a rent higher than one shilling per week. Plans were now being prepared, he was glad to say, for the erection of houses upon corporate property which would suit people who could not afford more than one shilling per week.

Sir Robert Rawlinson said it had been one of the tasks of his life to investigate what were called charitable endowments in different parts of the country. These charities had increased to an enormous extent. His observations forced him to say--Show me a largely endowed district and I will show you a corrupt population. Where endowments were relied on, they took away the self-interest of the population to look after themselves. Therefore they must be cautious in attempting to do good that they did not make greater evil. Under no circumstances can relief be given in money' was an admirable rule of the Dublin Ladies' Sanitary Society. The question of putting the poor into a proper condition was the statesman's work. The laws must be so regulated, and so framed, and so ad

ministered, that there should be relief without Communism, for woe be to that nation and to that people who ceased to rely on its own endeavours, and looked to the ranks above to feed, and clothe, and take care of them. Its disruption

must soon come.

Dr. Byrne Power, Medical Superintendent, Officer of Health, read a paper on

THE PUBLIC HEALTH OF KINGSTOWN. He said there was a very low birth-rate and a relatively high death-rate in Kingstown. The death-rate he considered excessive, taking into account the very favourable conditions as to health which ought to obtain in a town so favourably situated. All the physical conditions were favourable, the climate, soil, water-supply, and sewerage being good. The first thing that struck him in investigating the causes of the high death-rate was the number and wretchedness of the slums. These are, for the most part, hidden from view by dwellings of a more respectable character, being, in many cases, erected in what were formerly the yards or gardens belonging to the houses which conceal them, so that all seems prosperous enough to the casual observer. The number of such hovels and of their inhabitants indicates a proletariate out of all proportion to the possibility for employment in such a town. Such a number of persons in Kingstown constantly on the verge of pauperism is, he believes, completely abnormal even in Ireland, and makes the township extremely sensitive to the influence of bad years.' Thus Kingstown presented some of the worst features of a town of decay, and industry and remedy for want were almost hopeless.

On October 3, Dr. Charles A. Cameron, City Analyst and Medical Officer of Health for Dublin, delivered an address on MICRO-ORGANISMS AND ALKALOIDS WHICH RENDER FOOD POISONOUS.'

AND

Mr. W. G. Strype, C. E., read a paper onA NEW PROCESS FOR TREATING DRYING BLOOD FOR USE AS MANURE WITHOUT CREATING NUISANCE.

The rapid manner, the writer said, in which the blood of animals decomposes, emitting offensive emanations dangerous to health, has presented considerable difficulty in preparing it for use. Blood contains about 75 to 80 per cent. of moisture, which has to be evaporated in order to prepare it in convenient form for agricultural or other purposes, but the operation of drying, as usually performed, tends to aggravate the nuisance by the increased emission of noxious vapours. The author's attention had been directed to this subject in connection with the manufacture of sulphate of alumina, and some of the many sanitary purposes to which this material could be advantageously applied. It has been generally known that the ordinary hydrated sulphate of alumina had the property of abating the nuisance arising from the naturally rapid decomposition of blood when it had been kept for a short time, but the quantity necessary to do so was considerable, and it was almost impossible to thoroughly mix the sulphate with the blood so as to secure deodorisation. The treatment with sulphate of alumina has, therefore, not hitherto been a success, or, indeed, much employed on a large scale. Hydrated sulphate of alumina, as now manufactured, is very soluble itself in water, and especially in hot water; and he found that if the sulphate were previously dissolved in water the solution so obtained could be added so as to be intimately incorporated with every part of the blood. He found that so small a proportion of the hydrated sulphate of alumina as the one-fiftieth, or even the one-sixtieth part of the blood to be treated, when added in the form of a solu. tion, was quite sufficient to entirely destroy the offensive and dangerous odour, and the resulting mixture could be afterwards dried to prepare it for use in an open pan heated with a fire or other means without nuisance; the slight odour emitted during the process of drying is rather a pleasant one than otherwise, somewhat resembling that from the roasting of a fresh joint of beef. The most

desirable method of adding the sulphate to the blood is to place in a shallow tin dish of suitable dimensions a small quantity of the solution, containing about three-quarters of a pound of the sulphate of alumina, and allow the blood from the slaughtered animal to flow into it. A full-sized animal gives about forty-five pounds weight, or about four and a half gallons of blood. A collecting-vessel is placed close at hand, and the contents of the dishes are poured into it, when it shortly afterwards coagulates, and not the least trace of offensive odour occurs. This method of treatment is now being carried on upon a working scale by the Dublin and Wicklow Manure Company, who collect all the blood from the animals slaughtered at the public abattoir which the Corporation have recently erected in this city. The blood is conveyed to the company's works at Bailybough Bridge, and there dried in an open pan, without the emission of any offensive odour, or the least inconvenience to the workmen, and without any danger whatever to public health. This treatment has also been carried out upon a large scale at some of the slaughtering establishments (or saladeros, as they are locally called) at Monte Video, in the State of Uruguay, where upwards of 500 animals are slaughtered in each saladero per day on the average during the season.

Mr. Francis Parker read a paper on 'THE INFLUENCE OF FOOD ON HEALTH.'

Dr. Charles A. Cameron read a paper on

THE WATER SUPPLY TO IRISH TOWNS,

in which he stated that in 1881 there were in Ireland eleven cities and towns governed by corporations or town councils. Their aggregate population amounted to 683,502, and their valuation to 1,743,317. The nine townships surrounding the city of Dublin had a population of 95,400, and a valuation of 395,667. There were ninety-four cities and towns governed by towns' commissioners; their population amounted to 449.451, and their valuation to 286,215. The population of all these was, therefore, in 1881, 1,228, 35, and their valuation for rating 2,583,435. In such towns the valuation is about two-thirds of the actual letting value. He had endeavoured to ascertain the nature of the water supplies to these 114 cities, towns, and townships, and had succeeded in ascertaining facts regarding nearly every town of importance in the country. The eleven towns governed by town councils were: Belfast-Population, 207,671; valuation, 568,1377.; water supplied from a reservoir near Carrickfergus, twelve miles from Belfast. Clonmel-Population, 10.519; valuation, 15,4247.; supplied by local pumps and wells. Cork-Population, 78, 361; valuation, 226,022.; supplied from River Lee. DroghedaPopulation, 12,516; valuation, 28, 1217.; supplied partly by Waterworks Company, partly by local pumps. DublinPopulation, 249,486; valuation, 657,820. The gathering ground of the water supplied to Dublin consists of granite mountains and other high ground, situated about twentythree miles from the city, in the county Wicklow. The reservoir is very large, and is capable of supplying thirtyfive gallons per diem per unit of the population. At first the wa'er impounded had a faint yellow colour, which gradually became deeper, and after three or four years became so deep as to excite alarm. The colour was caused by the peaty and other organic matter in the reservoir becoming soluble by fermentation. After a time the hue became less intense, and now the water is almost colourless. It is soft; one imperial gallon contains about 4 grains of solid matters, 0'0005 grain of albuminoid ammonia, o 0008 grain of saline ammonia, faint traces of nitrates and nitrites, and 0.96 grain of chlorine. Its hardness is about 1°8, of which 0.8 is permanent. It is one of the purest waters in the world. With respect to pressure and quantity the citizens have nothing to complain. There are some well waters still used in Dublin. They are generally very hard, owing to the presence of large quantities of earthy salts. Kilkenny-Population, 12, 182; valuation, 33,155.; supplied by local wells, and to a limited extent from river. Limerick-Population,

X

38,600; valuation, 65,547%.; supplied from River Shannon. Londonderry-Population, 28,947; valuation, 74,595.; no information." Sligo Population, 10,764; valuation, 18,6197.; supplied from a lake. WaterfordPopulation, 22,401; valuation, 39,8667.; supplied from hilly region remote from city. Wexford-Population, 12,055; valuation, 16,0117.; supplied from pumps. Statistics of a like character were given of towns under Town Commissioners.

Mr. G. B. Nicholls, C.E., read a paper onHOUSE DRAINAGE IN CONNECTION WITH TOWN SEWAGE.

He said he had maintained, and still maintained, that all schemes of sewerage should be designed and constructed to receive the house drainage in the most perfect manner, and that so soon as the sewers are ready to receive the sewage the owners of property should be compelled to carry out a perfect system of house drainage and connections to the sewer upon one principle-such princi ple to be maintained and supported by the authority and under their entire control; and any deviation therefrom should be subject to the highest penalties the Legislature can enforce. The Local Government Board recommended the advance of capital to carry on these sanitary works, and, in doing so, he was of opinion that they would do well to insist that the house drainage and connections should be made to form part of the whole scheme of sewerage, and hold the authority responsible for this work, which in every instance should be carried out under the supervision of thoroughly qualified officers. If such a state of things could be accomplished under some enactment, we should have our habitations in a healthy condition, and be free from the effects of sewer gas, and the mortality reduced to a state which would not only gladden the hearts of those for whom the work was performed, but the whole community.

Mr. W. Kaye Parry, M. A., C.E., engineer to the Dublin Sanitary Association, read a paper on

DOMESTIC DRAINAGE IN DUBLIN,

to show that the proper machinery exists in the city to enable the residents to ascertain, for a moderate fee, the sanitary condition of their dwellings, and to afford them disinterested advice and assistance in remedying defects; and, secondly, to suggest some of the practical difficulties which assail the engineer in his endeavour to improve the existing arrangements.

Mr. W. R. Maguire, F.R. M. E. and C.S.I., read a paper on

PRACTICAL SANITARY LESSONS DERIVED FROM ONE THOUSAND SANITARY INSPECTIONS OF DWELLING HOUSES IN IRELAND.

The paper stated that out of more than one thousand dwelling-houses inspected in Ireland-from noblemen's mansions to six-roomed cottages-only twenty could be certified free from danger to the health of the residents. No selection of these houses was made, they were examined in the order in which they were placed on the books. About fifty of these were tolerably secure though faulty, while twenty only were found free from defect. This, continued the writer, is not a mere statement of opinion, but a record of carefully ascertained facts. Allotting ten persons to each house, we have here over 10,000 persons living under conditions where their lives were continually in needless danger, and where it is known that many from these causes suffered serious illness, in some cases ending fatally. In the brief time at our disposal we must endeavour to deal practically and usefully with one point of paramount importance in house inspection-the house-drain. opinion has long been held, and is growing steadily, that we are making very serious mistakes in Dublin, decidedly injurious to the health of the citizens and increasing the

The

so that

death-rate-1. By using pipes of 9-inch diameter for the house-drain, laid across under the streets, connecting the houses with the public sewers. 2. By laying them on the soil without cement-concrete foundation, and they are liable to sink. 3. By not imperviously cementing the joints. 4. By leading them into the house direct under the scullery instead of invariably leading them across under the open area. 5. By not compelling the use of approved interceptor traps to exclude the public sewer air. The 9-inch diameter drain pipes used in Dublin are 50 per cent. too large in diameter and area for their purpose of conveying drainage rapidly from the houses into the public sewer. It is very important that the proper size of house-drains should be adopted in a great city. Dublin city, exclusive of suburbs, contains more than 25,000 houses in about 130 miles of streets, with a population over 250,oco. Taking 7 yards, or 21 feet, of drain under Section I as a fair average for each house, we have 100 miles of drain laid across under roadways from houses to sewers under the control of the sanitary authority. The length of private house-drains and branches, beside, under, and around houses, extends many hundred miles more, but at present we are only dealing with the section under the sole control of the sanitary authority. Now, the internal surface area of this 100 miles of drain is more or less foul, and is constantly giving off exhalations to the air in the drain; the proportion of this internal surface area of 9-inch to 6-inch drain is as 24 to 1, i.e. the 100 miles of 9-inch drain now laid under our streets and connected with our houses contains 1,188,000 square feet of foul surface area inside, as compared with 792,000 square feet, the surface area of 6-inch drain, an absolutely unnecessary excess of nearly 400,000 square feet of foul surface in our drains. An estimate of items will show that a total saving in cost to the citizens, if the more suitable 6-inch diameter drains had been used, would be a capital sum in round numbers of at least 25,000, and a very notable saving in money may be effected in future if 6-inch drains are adopted, besides the saving to life and health. The importance of forming a hard unyielding foundation for the drain should never be forgotten. The law or the sanitary authority should require all drains to be brought into the open areas in front of houses, and should forbid all direct drain connection under any vaults having direct covered access to the houses. That interceptor traps are required

on the line of drain at some point before they reach the house is held by sanitary engineers, and now generally admitted. The health of Dublin would be notably improved if the sanitary authority undertook a systematic examination and test of every house-drain, and compelled their universal reform. There should be a stringent official inspection of the internal fittings of every house. Turning now to Section 2: the private house-drains solely under the control of the householder; there are two classes, drains inside the house walls and drains outside the house walls. If it is possible to place drains outside the walls, we are all agreed that they should be kept there even at all considerable trouble and expense. In view of the extreme importance of sound work in drains and fittings, does it not seem the most extreme folly to try to get such work done at low rates? The health of a household depends on the durability as well as on the initial soundness of each joint and piece of drain. The sanitary inspection of a dwelling, when undertaken by a sanitary engineer, should be considered by him as a sacred trust, to be carefully and faithfully carried out for the protection of the health and the lives of the future residents.

THE CLOSING MEETING.

At the closing meeting of the Congress, Sir Robert Rawlinson, the President, expressed the thanks which they all owed to the able secretaries who had arranged matters for the sections. They had also to thank the Lord Mayor of Dublin for the support and countenance he had consistently extended to them.

Dr. Sykes, Mr. W. R. E. Coles, and Mr. Boulnois, C.E., the secretaries of the three sections, then reported to the meeting what had been done in the sections.

The President announced that the Council had accepted an invitation to meet next year at Leicester. He then moved a hearty vote of thanks to the Provost and Senior Fellows of Trinity College, to the Council of the Royal Dublin Society, the Royal College of Surgeons, the King and Queen's College of Physicians, and to the local Sanitary Association. In no place that they had visited had they received more cordial and hearty assistance than in Dublin.

The motion was passed by acclamation.

Dr. Carpenter proposed a vote of thanks to the Lord Mayor, to which his lordship replied.

Mr. R. O'B. Furlong proposed a similar compliment to the President, who briefly acknowledged it, paying at the same time a tribute to the merits, energy, and ability of Mr. Furlong.

Votes of thanks were also passed to the Presidents and secretaries of sections, and to the Press.

LECTURE BY DR. CARPENTER.

DR. CARPENTER, Chairman of the Council of the Sanitary Institute, delivered a lecture on EDUCATION BY PROVERB IN SANITARY WORK,' which is published at p. 135. There was a large audience.

THE BANQUET.

On October I the Dublin Committee of the Sanitary Institute of Great Britain entertained his Excellency the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and members of the Sanitary Congress and others at a banquet in the Shelbourne Hotel. Sir Robert Rawlinson, President of the Sanitary Institute, presided.

The Lord-Lieutenant, in responding to the toast of his health, said I will venture to say that no more useful science has been found for the people of the United Kingdom than the hygienic or sanitary science which your association represents so worthily to-night. No one,

I think, can have visited that very popular place in London-I mean the Health Exhibition-without seeing how very wide indeed is the range which the net of your society sweeps within its meshes. It is almost impossible to find any subject omitted if you go round that interesting and valuable exhibition. You find food and drinks which are good for health, you find models of houses, of their drainage, their fitting-up; and if you go farther you may see the highest works of art, for mental influences as well as physical influences have to do with health. You may see also not only such matters as those to which I refer, but you may see the extravagances which the vanities of men and women have devised in dress. You may see the sad results of the endeavour to get a very slight waist. You may see the extravagant Tesults of the efforts of men to wear extremely narrow pointed boots. There is nothing in fact which a sanitary exhibition may not embrace within its doors. But I shall not attempt to define your work. I know this, that it has a most useful and beneficial effect on all grades of society, from the richest to the poorest. We all know that in every city there are great difficulties to contend with in regard to sanitary arrangements. London has its Thames, and I think no one will deny that Dublin has its Liffey. Since I have known Dublin, when I first came to reside in this country, nearly fourteen years ago, the question of the Liffey has been a very great one. It is still a great one, and I am afraid it is a very difficult one; but if the Corporation and those who have the charge of the sanitary measures of this city, are enabled-and I hope they may be some day enabled to carry out this great but difficult work, and that through the exertions which they are making for improving the dwellings of the poor, which are very great in this city, you may hope that if the terrible scourge of cholera comes it may not find many victims among the

It

poor here. is blessed with fine open spaces-given, some of them, and dedicated to the public by the munificence of some of your citizens-large open spaces close to the very centre of the densest population. You have the Phoenix Park also, which is a splendid place for the recreation and health of the people. In these respects you are very fortunate; and in one most important respect you are probably more fortunate than London and many other large places. I allude to the admirable water-supply which you have. Now, I believe that no greater blessing has been conferred on the people of Dublin than the establishment of the Vartry works and the plentiful supply of that beautiful water to all parts of Dublin. These works are always associated with the name of Sir John Gray.

Dublin has some great advantages.

I believe that in Dublin the Corporation has done a great deal by providing baths, by removing the densely. crowded parts of the city, by encouraging the building of better houses for the poor, through the Artisans' Dwellings Act, and in many other ways they have contributed in a very marked way to the improvement of the sanitary condition of the city of Dublin. In other parts of the which is much poorer than the sister country you cannot country much has also been done. Of course in a country expect that local bodies will take up large operations which cost a great deal of money; but since 1874 and 1878 nearly 1,200,000l. has been borrowed and expended by local bodies for the improvement of drainage and watersupply, and in the rural districts last year 50,000/. has been expended in various sanitary improvements. I cannot forget one important Act passed last year-the Labourers Act. That Act has already been in operation,

but not for long. It has only been in operation for about a year, but sixty-nine provisional orders have been applied for by the Local Government Board, and already the building of over 3,000 houses has been sanctioned under it. When we consider how very had the houses and think we may look forward to a very great change in their cottages of the poor in various parts of Ireland are, I moral character as well as in their sanitary condition if this Act continues to operate beneficially throughout the country.

The Lord Mayor, in responding, said the Municipal Council of Dublin had very many difficulties to contend against. In reference to the purification of the Liffey, it would be in the recollection of Sir Robert Rawlinson that the Corporation were most anxious to accomplish that work, but they found that the tenders sent in ranged from 500,000l. up to nearly a million, and as prudent men the Council did not feel themselves warranted in incurring so large an expenditure, particularly as there were other benefits, but would bear no portion of its cost. He thought municipalities which would be equal participators in its the particular circumstances of Dublin would warrant the Government in taking up this question and passing a Bill to amalgamate the townships with the city. So anxious was the Corporation for the carrying out of the purification of the Liffey they had again taken up the question, and had instructed their chief engineer and chief officer of accomplishing it. health to report upon the most satisfactory method for

THE EXHIBITION.

FOR the first time in their annals the Sanitary Institute appear on Irish soil, and Dublin has very properly been selected for its first appearance in the sister kingdom. In no previous year has the Institute been so well accommodated as regards the building in which to hold their display as on the present occasion, for in the premises of the Royal Dublin Society at Ball's Bridge the executive have at their disposal a hall, the counterpart of which could scarcely be met with in any town in the United Kingdom. The only slight drawback is the distance at which it is situate from the centre of the city. The exhibition, however, is of not so comprehensive a character as some of the prior ones have been. There are a certain