towns, such as Belfast, Cork, etc., might each support their own officer, and it should be a recognised part of his duty to attend, at least periodically, the meetings of the sanitary authority.”

UNINHABITABLE HOUSES.

IN the Exchequer Division there has just been given a decision of the very greatest importance to landlords and tenants, which, we are thankful to say, may lead to something like a revolution in certain things. We are alluding to the case of Wilson v. FinchHatton (see p. 306). The facts were exceedingly simple, and we might add painfully familiar in their generic character to many of our readers. The defendant was a son of the Dowager Countess of Winchelsea, against whom the action was in reality brought. It appears that in the spring of 1875, negotiations were completed for her ladyship to take for three months a furnished house, 43 Wilton Crescent, Knightsbridge. On preparing to go in on the agreed day the smells in the house were found to be so strong as to render it quite impossible for the new tenant to enter with safety. A very brief examination showed that close to the house there was a cesspool which had not been emptied for ten years; this was connected with the house which was to have been Lady Winchelsea's by a porous brick drain, untrapped, and coated inside with a deposit of foul matter about two inches thick. On making this discovery Lady Winchelsea very naturally took alarm and not only refused to complete her bargain then, but also refused to wait whilst the landlord attempted to redress the evils of which he did not deny the existence. It did not precisely appear whether the alterations made were adequate or inadequate, but Lady Winchelsea took her stand on the fact that the house was not fit for habitation at the time when she had agreed to enter it, and she did not choose to

that if the drains turn out to be at the eleventh hour defective, they at the eleventh hour can lawfully recede from their contract. The special caution which we would impress upon every intending tenant of a house, new or old, furnished or unfurnished, is, do not rely too much upon the chances of future litigation, even with the case of Wilson v. Finch-Hatton at your back, but let a minute investigation into the sanitary arrangements of the house be one of your earliest steps. If you are not yourself knowing enough to grapple with such matters, do not grudge paying a guinea or two to some competent architect or surveyor who you can rely on to attend honestly to your interests. Builders are great. sinners in respect of defective drains, and where they are not landlords, are very often exclusively to blame for faults in respect of which, however, the law will punish the landlord.

There can therefore be no better means of inculcating sound ideas respecting the necessity of having good sanitary appliances for houses, than for all tenants and would-be tenants to become very exacting as to such matters. In this way pressure will be brought to bear on landlords, and through landlords on builders. Nothing but persistent agitation and the creation of a strong public opinion will accomplish the necessary results, but we by no means despair. The question like many other questions, one of supply and deof houses being properly or improperly drained is, mand; if defective houses are found not to be in demand, landlords and builders will soon discover by that strongest of all tests-l. s. d.-that it is to their interest to build and fit up only houses which conform to the requirements of modern sanitary science.

THE

wait. The contract being thus summarily abandoned SANITARY RECORD.

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 1877.

The Editor will be glad to receive, with a view to publication, announcements of meetings, reports of proceedings, and abstracts or originals of papers read before the members of any sanitary or kindred association.

LOWER THAMES STREET.

by the tenant, an action was brought by the landlord for the amount of the three months' rent, which was to have been the substantial sum of nearly 400/. The arguments adduced on the part of the landlord, were both varied and ingenious; the principal one was that the contract to hire was legally complete and binding, and that the house must be deemed to have been taken subject to any and all defects. In addition to this the landlord's counsel urged that Lady Winchelsea was an unreasonably particular lady; that the house was no worse than many other houses in the neighbourhood, and that the difficulties which had arisen might in fairness have been met by a little forbearance on Lady Winchelsea's part; for instance, she might have been contented to have gone to an We are once more compelled to direct attention hotel for three weeks whilst the repairs were being to the filthy condition of Lower Thames Street. It executed, the more so as the landlord had mani- will be remembered that so long ago as last fested every desire to meet her wishes by expediSeptember this subject was prominently discussed in tiously performing the requisite repairs and alterathese columns. We then stated, and not without tions. Naturally such arguments as these, if arguments they can be called, had little or no weight with good grounds, that the normal condition of that the court, which based its decision upon the ground part of Lower Thames Street running in front of that the facts being in her ladyship's favour, the law Billingsgate Market and the Custom House was would be in her favour also. But we would warn utterly disgraceful—rotten fish and other but nameour readers, and tenants generally, who may be in-less abominations being allowed to lie scattered in clined to be careless in the preliminary stages of hiring a house, that they must not presume too much on this decision by the supposition that they can at the outset safely dispense with minute investigation into the condition of the drains, etc., of the house, supposing

the roadway, whilst the gutters of the street were choked with a foul and noisome liquid engendered from the animal and vegetable substances which lay reeking under the noonday sun.

Our strictures on the sanitary condition of this thoroughfare were promptly noticed by Dr. Sedgwick Saunders, the medical officer of health for the City of London, and a special report on the subject was made by him to the Court of Sewers, at a meeting of that body held on September 26. The opening paragraph of this report ran as follows: The filthy state of Lower Thames Street by Billingsgate Market and the Custom House continues to be a public scandal, and, in addition to constant and urgent complaints from individuals, a leading article has appeared in a journal devoted to matters connected with the public health, in which the sanitary arrangements connected with this particular neighbourhood are severely, but not too severely, animadverted upon as utterly disgraceful.'

In subsequent parts of his report the City medical officer went thoroughly into the matter, ascribing the horribly filthy condition of this metropolitan thoroughfare to the right causes. Whilst urging that there were some special circumstances -arising partly from the narrowness of the street and the great pressure of vehicular traffic-rendering the existing state of things' somewhat exceptional' it certainly was in no sense exceptional, as it had existed for years he nevertheless admitted that there were 'several matters' which required the 'immediate interference' of the Commissioners of Sewers. He said that in the first place the collection of offal and offensive liquid matter by the kerbstones in front of the Custom House was very much facilitated by the existence of large spur stones against the lamp posts in front of the Custom House; these stones, it was contended, preventing the circulation and flow of such liquid towards the gully, and increasing the labour of the scavengers in removing the more solid matters. Dr. Saunders recommended the removal of these stones. In the next place he referred to the practice of the inspectors of the Fishmongers' Company of examining fish in Lower Thames Street, and selecting the sound from the unsound whilst the vans were waiting, a practice which he admitted gave rise at times to an abominable stench, which was diffused all over the surrounding neighbourhood.'

'The greatest evil of all,' however, according to the admission of Dr. Saunders, was 'occasioned by an abominable custom of the costermongers who deal at the market, throwing the whole of the bad fish and the heads and guts of the sound fish into the roadway, at a time when the policeman | on duty is out of sight.' The shopkeepers, it seems, do 'much the same kind of thing' between 1 and 3 P.M., when the market and shops have closed for the day. Dr. Saunders remarked, 'Nothing will combat successfully this disgusting and, in a hygienic sense, dangerous nuisance, but the employment of a detective policeman in plain clothes to watch the place, who should be instructed to summon al offenders.'

We are now coming to the most important part of Dr. Saunders's report. In the first part of it, as we have said, he had accurately described the cause of the evils of which we complained. It remained to devise some remedy for those evils. Of course, if the costermongers or the tradesmen in Thames Street - who, apparently, were equally blamable for the horrible condition of the thoroughfare, and equally indifferent to the effects produced by their 'abominable practices'-could be compelled to desist from these practices the street would have been rendered so much the sweeter; and if the police did their duty, or the detectives in plain clothes had, as suggested, been efficiently employed, we cannot see why the nuisances complained of could not have been effectually put a stop to. Even had this been done, however, there would still have remained work for the sanitary officers of the Commissioners of Sewers to do; and if through supineness or indifference the police did not do their duty, the duty of the sanitary officers of the city was still more obvious.

What was wanted in fact above everything, was the plentiful use of water. Indeed Dr. Saunders says that he had previously recommended that this portion of the street'-the portion to which our past and our present remarks refer-' should be thoroughly flushed with water twice a day.' It is certain that this measure of cleanliness was never adopted. The Streets Committee of the Commissioners of Sewers found some difficulty it seems in carrying out the recommendation; but special directions were given, according to Dr. Saunders, to the superintendent of scavengers, that 'increased vigilance' should be shown.

What this 'increased vigilance' amounted to we do not know. The fact, however, remains that since we directed attention to this subject, the condition of Lower Thames Street has, if anything, been more disgraceful than ever. At the present moment we have no hesitation in saying that this thoroughfare is utterly discreditable to the sanitary authorities of the City of London. The stench which daily arises from it is simply horrible. The filthy slime from the fish carts which are perpetually unloading in the street is allowed to fall and lie with other abominations, both animal and vegetable, until the latter are tardily removed by the scavengers. There is regular dry sweeping, it is true, but that avails simply nothing to remove the filthy and pestilential stench which is given off from the horrible liquids which soak into the roadway. If water were champagne the Commissioners of Sewers could scarcely be more sparing of its use in this dreadful street. The presence of the Thames hard by ought, however, to be a standing rebuke to them for stinting a supply of water which would suffice to make clean and sweet such a malarial thoroughfare. A thorough flushing

with water even twice a day would serve to remove the chief evils of which we complain.

We appeal once more to the Corporation of London not to allow the present condition of things in Lower Thames Street any longer to exist, for we repeat that it is utterly discreditable to the sanitary administrators of 'the healthiest city in the world.'

COLLIERY DISASTERS.

THE recent harrowing catastrophe in the Pontypridd mine has had the effect of attracting the attention of every class of the British community to the subject of coal-' getting,' and to the varied perils which constantly environ those engaged in it. So far, therefore, the dreadful episode itself may be regarded as an apt illustration of the old axiom asserting that 'there is a spirit of good in things evil,' and its occurrence as not wholly a matter for regret. It is to be hoped, however, that the deep interest aroused in the public mind will not evaporate without conducing to some decided action on the part of the legislature, with a view to averting colliery accidents generally in the future. We ourselves have, in time past, repeatedly demonstrated the fact that a very large percentage of coal-pit fatalities might be prevented if only ordinary care were exercised in conducting colliery operations. It is, indeed, pretty certain that if the inspectors of mines could succeed in enforcing attention to the admirable regulations they have drawn up for the guidance of colliers, the annual destruction of life would be sensibly diminished. Beyond this, nevertheless, there is an urgent demand for the employment of much more effective means, mechanical and otherwise, in order further to effect the same object.

for in this case it meets, mechanically dissolves, and carries down to the earth the carburetted hydrogen with which—especially in hot weather-the atmosphere is highly charged. After a gentle shower has fallen what a pleasant change takes place! The carbon has been deposited on, or carried into the soil, to nourish and make it fruitful, whilst the gas is carried away in solution, until the heat of the sun releases it, and it again rises into the atmosphere. This is not the only way, it is true, in which Nature acts in restoring the balance of the atmosphere, for when excessively burthened with gases she sends electric sparks through overcharged clouds, and the gases are either decomposed by the explosion, or

resolved into their natural base-water.

Of course we dare not attempt to imitate Nature in the latter mode of getting rid of gases, but there is no reason why the destructive agents may not be largely absorbed by the water-jet system, and brought harmlessly to the surface by steam power.

The fourth section of the Colliery Inspection Act stipulates that 'an adequate amount of ventilation shall be constantly produced in all collieries, to dilute and render harmless gases to such an extent as that the working-places and levels of such collieries shall, under ordinary circumstances, be in a fit state for working.' How far this instruction is observed may be judged of by the fact that of the 1,161 poor fellows who met violent deaths in the collieries of Great Britain during the year 1875 no less than 234 were killed by explosions of firedamp!

There are, of course, many other sources of mining accidents which have to be dealt with before the mortality amongst the poor colliers can be sensibly lessened. One of the most prolific of these is indicated in the official returns, under the heading of 'falls of coal and roof,' and in 1875 the lives of no fewer than 422 men and boys were sacrificed in the way which the terms indicate. The remedy for this class of accident lies in giving the men who have to 'prop and stay' the undermined material more practical directions as to the best mode of doing it. In some pits, for instance, where skill in this respect is not lacking, such casualties are very seldom heard of. Taking into account the infinite variety, and the number of absolutely preventable disasters which annually occur in the collieries of this country, it is incumbent upon the Government to exert itself for the removal of the stigma thus imprinted upon the national character. One of the primary steps to be taken to this end should be, the immediate appointment of a number of extra, and properly-qualified inspectors and sub-inspectors, so that the conditions of the Mines Regulation Act might be enforced, and the numerous evasions now known to be practised be made to cease and determine. Eventually the In weak points of the Act itself—and it contains many

Foremost among the evils to which workers in the world underground are exposed is undoubtedly that of deficient ventilation, and for this, as a writer in The Times has recently observed, there are many effectual remedies, 'even in the most fiery mines.' There is, in fact, no real reason why the air of a mine should not be rendered nearly as wholesome and free from explosive gases as that which sweeps over the 'bank.' It is simply a question of the introduction of proper arrangements and appliances for the purpose of absorbing, withdrawing, or burning up the exuding gases. In none of the articles which have been written on the subject of mining ventilation, or at any rate in none that has come under our notice, has any suggestion been made for using water, in the form of jets, for the purification of the air of coal-pits.

Pure water thus used, however, we take leave to assert, would be found an effectual solvent of carburetted hydrogen or fire-damp, and thus, an admirable auxiliary in effecting perfect ventilation. point of fact, the introduction of water-jets would constitute an imitation of the natural action of rain in the outer world as it descends from the clouds,

should be strengthened, and then we might look forward with confidence to the dawning of brighter days for 'the poor collier.'