THE PUBLIC HEALTH.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 477, 8 April 1909, Page 4

THE PUBLIC HEALTH.

ISLAND BAY CESS-PITS. 'ANIMATED DEMTE BY 'CITY COUNCIL.: A Jlengthy ■ discussion .regarding the cess-. pits at 'Island Bay took iplaco atiast JugE's'i mooting of .tho City 'Council. ' '' ■ Tho Public Health Committee, which''had' been dealing with the matter; reported that they have held an exhaustive ;inquiry into the iciroumstanoos .relating to ;tlie serious nuisance at :Islnnd Bay, and 'find that: : (l)'(l'he cess-pits (4) -existed "for some .time prior to the amalgamation of the Melroso Borough with tho city, but did not conform to the Melroso'by-law, ;and .no effort'.appears' to have been made by the borough: officers to enforce the provisions of tho bylaw. ■ . ...■■■. -\ . .

(2) Since- the .amalgamation, complaints, hare .been made to .Mr. Greeks;.-assistant inspector for the .Melroso district,: about , the nuisance, but it does not appear that lie took :-any action in "tlits -.matter. He, : having heon the'sanitary inspector .'for the late /Mclroso IBorough, was no doubt' la-ware!-of tho existence of the cess-pits, and 'should' have been alive 'to tho danger of 'a nuisance-' arising therclrom. .-..,... .-.

, (3) When tho -complaint was .mado carlyi in .October last,' and Mr. Pringlo reported that : the muisance existed, Mr. Doyle treated tho .matter as a trivial quo, and took no, action to traco'the cesspits, though tho' City Engineer impressed "upon him' tho'fact' that complaints had ' been madq : "that tho , nuisance was arising .from w:c.'s draining; with cess-pits. It has been made clear to the committee that the existence of ori'o or , more cess-pits was known to at least' Messrs. Doylo and Greelcs, and the com-; mittee is of opinion that, as cess-pits are absolutely under tho oity by-law, a thorough inspection of tho premises should have been made, *nd' the nuisance abolished without delay. >■- ■■ ■».->. ;. The committee recommended: '•

(a) That Mr. Greeks bo severely censured' • tor having failed to investigate. the complaints made to him prior to October last. ' (b) lhnt Mr. Doyle be informed that his explanation, appended hereto, is accepted, but -that he be soverely censured , by,, the council for, his grave dereliction of duty in failing to locate the cess-pits -and'' ■ to 'have the nuisance abated. , !

(a) lhat the owner of the .unoccupied ("cottage Jying to the east of the hotel be prosecuted -under by-law No. 1 for permitting night-soil to remain on the premises so sis to foe dangerous to health, and that the . tenant of the Island Bay Hotel hn. prosecuted' for permitting night-soil touaccunniiate on the premises so as to bo dangerous to nealth. . - "h,, ~> . - 'lie committee reported that the nuisance' had t)een_abated, and the requisitions of. the City Engineer and District Health Offi- ! cer_were lenig oomplied with. The committee were of opinion that the complaint made in October last should have been referred to the committee for- their attention.

. Ths Discussion. ■. ...|i Shirt-cliffey chairman'-of/the 1 if min ' tte e. said, in reference to Mr. Doyle, that the clause was worded a bit too strongly ino committeo had before them the explanation, and the mistake was admitted. But there were extenuating circumstances which explained how the mistake arose. Perhaps Mr, Doyle- thought tho matter could remain• over until the coming of the aofferag'o sys-: tem - He would refer to Mr." Doyle's arduous duties for- tho past nineteen years'; antihe paid a tribute to the way, ho had carried' them out. He- suggested that the explanation be accepted; and that it be added that Mr. Doyle had committed a grave- error of judgment., Mr Greeks, ha considered, was to blame, and ho was rightly censured. Councillor Murdoch seconded the adoption or the report. He considered that Mr. Doylo was rather severely treated, and he did not think another man could be found in. tho 1 city who could carry out the duties in such a way as Mr. Doyle had done. He thought the words grave dereliction of duty" should be omitted from the report. ' Councillor Luke did not agree ■ with the statement that a subordinate officer'was more to blame than a superior He-raised..a question about .the health of the people living m the "vicinity. Hundreds of thousands of people must have passed through the hotel during the period affected, and they could not have escaped unscathed. If Mr Doye had not been such an old servant, ho *onld have considered the report not at all too strmgent. He supported the adoption of annS 't th ° r to mark disapproval of tho way his duties had been car-

Councillor Fletcher was surprised at tho ?KffA? VL thQ ° ha £ ma , n Councillor Shirtcliffo), as the committee's decision'was prac-tically-mammone It was all very h oil to that Mr Doylo waa not aware of tho C \° l i] ll c f^ lts > b«t ho must- havo known where the dram led.V The Melrcso bylaw only allowed cess-pits within 100 feet of dwelling .It wns..a shocking and abomm-f-nnwn v* affa ! rs 1 - - Mr - D °y lo nu,sfc have known ho was nofedomg the right thing, as all tho residents got their night-soil romped 2 trfcS? su PP ort , th , 0 report except Clause 2, which recommended that the tenant of the ho el b<, prosecuted. 'Tho owner of tho hotel Wfh. Cotta f. wa ? Mr - G'lmer, and it was mamfestly uniair that the tenant, who was rB TT fOr ten'nraths, should b 0 pro(Wii ln this direction... , Councillor Smith considered tho verdict , was a very fan- one, .and ono that Mr. Doylo would acquiesce in.- It would-be, at all events, somo security thaftheso things would

Strong Remarks. Councillor M'Laren thought there was too much .pecia pleading regarding this matter/ and tho facts wore not brought forward as they should havo been. Tho report was, adopted .unanimously, but a clause bortai contradic ion, as ,t was proposed to accept' Mr. Doyle s explanation arirl censure him Hβ admitted nothing elso than an error o judgment, but tho Speaker thought it'wds something more than this. No member -Sf : the committee doubted that tho officeri know of the existenco of these cess-pits Tho inspection of October last was neve? carried to completion and that was where the derchct.on of dnty came in. The inspection: IT. Til w' 1 iH ' ocoed t0 sh °w what was it tho cM o the pipes. Ho pointed out that there wero four coss-pits, and he would Bay Without foar of wntradiction that he had w«er «ea ■ anytime mere- d.sgrar-cful i), all that a tonk should bo si sk for the purpose fi "I 1 ' ri h S rT age - He was not satisfied, although he did not wish to attack any fftFi b «t ho felt it his duty to p,ove tho' deletion of «,e words accepting the oxplanaL ii £ -, cy ,vere . to , eensnro nn officer, it shoud bo done straightforwardly. No ono could question the fact that *ho knowledge ol the presonco of tho cess-pits was in the niind.? of the officers. Ho submitted that' tho officers failed in their duty in this respect, and the council should not fail in its Tho amendment was not seconded. The Report Opposed. Councillor Hindmarsh opposed the reixirt as he thought "Mr. Doyle's explanation should be accepted, as so many years' service should be counted in such a matter. It might be a fact that Mr. Gilmer was a wealthy man, and sonlo of them thought thoy ivero doing..-v very valiant stroke"in striking at him, but this should not blind thc!t< m this, matter. The Molroso people had taken no action, and what should Mr. Doylo havo done? Ho knew of a man who lived at the hotel for two years, who know nothing of tho nuisancfr. A councillorr Ho got' acclimatised! ' Councillor HinJmarsh. continued that ho had no brief for Mr. Doyle, but ho believed in.starulice up for a man who was attacked. Tho derelictions of other officers had been passed over, and the council should remember that this- officer had served 20 years in a most difficult position. Ho did not consider such inquiries wero very exhaustive. Councillor Biss thought it a good reason that, in vjew of the difficulty of th> position of thtf chief sanitary officer, the office should bo incorporated in. tho City, •vyfripar'a- -do

partmont. Ho-thquglit Mr. Doylo had boon • led .'into error by "tho i'oTce of habit. Ho ■had looked for it by sense ot miu'll .iiul had hob found'it. ■ '■ Councillor. Carmiphael said ho had been appointed "b'y'Jlf; 'Gihncr to look into tho he v liad'done so. Two of tho pits ,wer(> .receptacles .for receiving water '.from the sink's and baths, and they had no 3raiiiag& J .at..T3lhndiißay to take it away. That-loft two pit" only to be dealt with. 'Go.un.cilldJvE.letcljbr.: Oh! No.! 'Councillor Carmichael: Yes. Lnm prepared to stand it. It was absolutely impossible-..vto; smell or detect anything from the ,nit..,. When ho camo to the committee .meeting, lio was asked to retire, ss;it, was.'fhougllt'he- might answer 'somc"th'illg.' ■■••••-■".'•"■ ; .-•'Councillor, rose in explanation. Ho objectotl./ iCqViY)ci 11 or Camiichael's presence as ho wasithero, in a dual capacity. An -ExiJlanaiion. The Mayor 'explained for the benefit'of councillors tliat'all Councillors ivero entitled to be present meeting of a committee until tho_;cpmmittec commenced its tl(jliber.atipi»s. Tliey' : could bo 'present while witnesses were being called, and while in-formation'-was ib'cing placed before the committee. *~.:-.V».' '■ .;-.,-;; ."'Councilor-'-Carmicliael said ho only made tho .statement toHsJJfl.w that a portion of the committeoMvero'not sufficiently honest— I ■ The ; Mayor* Sou must not sny that, Goun-cillor-Cttrmibhtfolrf '■•-■ ■"• , ,CA.ulib'illoi!"'Darfulchaol: Very well, I mil "withdraw Ht; -(Laughter.) 'Gouttc'ilor "Godber /denied that the committee .not; jTqno exhaustively into the waViiot a special pleader, althouglv.sSTP7bajl;_bepn a 'lot of special pleading on both: sides: :The reason "Sir. Greeks was peßsureclryWas 'that there was no eviJddhceUih'aKßo hncKrreported the ■■nuisance. !A&;,,Rqylo,;l)fld.jiiistified his trust in a great .measure,-bub'•thereVidenco showed, to 'the -speaker's'.mind : that he had failed in his duty.'-If-they did-not accent.the explanation, .Mr:',p.bylc-,:nwst;*feign. ~ .■ . ( . ■". Councillor , Cohon the report.

■""Councillor >Ba'llmge.r moved as an amend-ment-that the explanation bo accepted, but that the 'council is of opinion that an error of judgment .has been committed in not locating .tho niiisance. ■ Cbuncfllor r Fisher'-was satisfied that the coinmTtt'eo' exhaustively into the question. _ to the lot of Councillor Shirtcliffo to move tho most un.pleasant motion , mevqd for a long time.. Ho thought the «m>r.."6f judgment had been so bad that" , •'council should record it in 'some ''WaJv "'although it was very unfortunate. The council , should take cognisance' of such a' dereliction-of duty as this. Still, he did not think the record should stand for all' time'. "-■■'■-■'-■ ■■■■

.Countillof/liUlM'.pointed Out that if a well ■Jiad-been-sunk—in-tlie vicinity, danger to public.health must, havo been occasioned. "Tile 'Mayor "tKo'iight tho council was to be congratulated in'"not following tho lead of Councillor . M'Laron." That was tho only pleasant"feature■in an unpleasant business. It, was, nonsense to suggest that anything more than an error of judgment had taken place; ■ The nature of the soil must be considered, ;and : 'thafc was conducive to less of ..ajniisancctUanothe- usual kind of soil would .retain...... Tho..occurrence- was very unfortu■natOj- but pcoplo.-had come to his office to say- that- they, near by, and that they had noticed no nuisaneo. " Was there, ho asked, any necessity for strong censure? To some extent' Mr. Doylo had had his record and lie".-;was suffering enough as it was', a'hd" there was' no reason in being unnecessarily cruel —(Hear,, hear.) Councillor; .Morrah thought tho report should Be adopted as it stood. . " iCouncilor' ShirtcliiTo said it was a case of talking .after the event; everyone know that a scandalous state of affairs existed. He had • letters from'.lsland Bay residents to show that they had obsorve'd no nuisance. amendment' was earned, Councillors Smith, Ballinger, Biss, Cohen, Fishpr.-.Sirid'fri'arsh'i" , ShirtcliiTo, Milf-i docli, - Carmichael;-Godber, Hales, and tho Mayor, voting, fqr- it, and Councillors Plot-, cher, LUke, 'M'Laron, and Morrah against. The amendment to prosecute tho owner, Instead : of the--tenant, was carried. .: . : Mr.: Explanation. In his explanation to the committee, Mr. Doyle stated:—When Mr. Pringle's report canio to' , me fronv tho city engineer, I wont out to Island', Bay •-,with Inspector Greeks, and met Pringle at tho cottage. He proceeded to show me tho nuisance described 'in his "report. 'At tho spot indicated '■ in tho first part of. the report.v. he says: "He dug.down-6 0r..7 inches,, and each spit of tho shovel brought up pure night-soil." A small quantity of night-soil was found—it had evidently 'been thrown tliero and covered with graveL-1 din sure Mr. Priiiglo will admit-that in this particular his report wa3 misleading'."" Ho tlien showed mo tho hole in ■ front; of tho cottage. This hole appeared to '-bp'.sunk;through'clean gravel, and there was no trace/or smell. 1 think Mr. Pringlo will also agree with this. I then told him to (ill thoiholp, and I would attend to the matter..'.- I am not sure whether the drainpipes' were exposed :thcn; tho point is not material bccauso.l saw the pipes either then ol- subsequently.' I'then went to tho hotel to make further-inquiry. Thoro was nothing on the surfaco"to indicate a nuisanco. Tho fact that p.w.c.'s were there made it obvious that therd' were cese-pools, but the Molroso by-lawy; which was in operation .up, last year, i>ermitted cess-pools under'certain-conditions. Although I admit that. _ I . was.., not familiar with tho conditions"; , ;! '•assumed (perhaps wrongly) that jhad ' ' been "complied with; : up, .to/'fchisi thore had bceii no apparent drainago arrangements had for .'jilghteen or twenty years and I>'also\kiten' tkt tho district would bo properly drained Iwithin a comparatively short time. .':'.T.mAd_6 another inspection after arranging to meet-'the former tenant there with the key.- The.' lady satisfied mo that'thero was a(miisan'C(j''ih : 'the house. I then decided to examine fhd,;'fittmgs, instead .of trying [ to which I took for grantfc/1. I considered that as thero Was, as far as , '! could,See..,,,uo nuisanco cutsidd, the nuisanco in thcjiouse was'moro likely to rcsulMroin, defective- fittings than from any thing i'elso'!"" T ; 'fb'flnd that the ventilationpipa df tho.,p.w,c,. was displaced, tho drain was not ventilated,: and tho position of the bath rendered it fairly certain that it had an unfrapped, coiuiec'tion; this was quto: sufficient ;to - account" for tho nuisance, and theve can bo no. doubt it was tho cause. I told Mr. Gilnlor, jun., at Skerrott and Wylio's, !to solid ft man to put the Ventpipo at the w.c. right, and to trap tho bath or remove rt, and that 1 thought would meet .tho caso. until tho new drainaco was installed....! .went out again to see If this had been .; Jone.. .-.: Tho vent-pipe had been lixod, but as-the liouso was unoccupied, -I was unable to seo if tho bath had been done. After ascertaining from the committee "that "the" coss-pool was close to the holo in front of tho cottage, I got a couplo of men to uncover it, and although in tho course of the examination, ono of tho men (S. Copper) laid down on tho planks" covering the holo,; removed ono and looked into it for-openings, ho would say that thero was no smell perceptible to him. I then tested tho hotel drains, and after satisfying myself that they wore.not connected with tfio cesspool, I traced them with tho result already known. I submit that I should not bo hold responsible for tho conditions found to exist at the hotel. The knowledge that there wcro p.w.c.'s, and presumably cess-pools was not confined to me. Recommendation from tho Public Health Department for improvements in tho sanitary,, arrangements had been given effect to- through tho City Council in 1904 and .1900,, but no complaint has been made aboiit it [since'.' My action may have shown an error of judgment, but it was influenced by tho fact that I should find no indication of the nuisance described by Mr. Pringle. In the light of subsequent happenings, . 1 quite realise tho seriousness of tho mistake which i ma'do and which I keenly, regret. I,have only to say that it was an honest mistake. I havo no desiro to shirk, the blame, which must attach to me, but' I do desire. to clear myself from tho imputation that it was anything but an error of judgment.