AUCKLAND'S SANITARY CONDITION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13456, 5 June 1907, Page 8

AUCKLAND'S SANITARY CONDITION.

INTERVIEW WITH HEALTH OFFICER. THE WELLINGTON CRITICISM. " OUR SO-CALLED FACTORIES." Since the recent outbreak of plague 'in Auckland strenuous efforts have been made by the.Health Department and the various local bodies to make the city "clean. A great amount jof ■' rubbish has been carted from various portions of the town, and especially from unused cellars and such like places. A number of buildings have also been .condemned, and it may be said that Auckland and the surrounding districts are in a much - better sanitary condition than was the case some months ago. . . . The work that has been done, and is being done, has been eminently satisfactory to the health officer. (Dr. Purdy), who expressed his appreciation of it to a Herald reporter yesterday. ;.' He was pleased to say' that the, notices served on the householders' by the 'officials; of the Health Department and .the, City; Council staff with regard ' *o , the ' cleaning up of premises had .'the desired effect. As far as the more congested parts of the city were concerned he could certainly say that there was already a decided improvement. Reports had been sent; to the City Council specifying ."old, dilapidated properties in various parts of the city, many, of them having been for years, owing to their insanitary .condition, a standing menace to the health' of the city. In some cases it had' been sufficient merely to notify ■■, the j owners and specify what was required to' be done," the request being immediately 'complied with.; .There had been no instance of a refusal to comply with the-: requests ; but in cases where there was likely to be un- 1 due interference with business time had I been allowed the occupiers to get other pre-' mises. ".This applies more especially ■■ to some of our so-called factories in the town," ] said Dr. Purdy. -j •; A 'question as to what he thought of 'the! sanitary condition generally of Auckland brought to Dr. Purdy's mind the criticism of .a Wellington resident, which appeared in yesterday's .Hkralu, regarding the back streets of. Auckland: •.'' The health-officer, remarked that " people who -bVe in glass houses should not : throw stones." .'He added: ''I* have no doubt that if Welling* ton had a couple of deaths from plague there would probably be found in the Emjpire' City one or two"•'beauty spots.';*" X have very. lively .recollections of an inquest I attended in Wellington eight- years ago; and although a good deal has no doubt been done since then, there is no necessity for people to point invidiously ; at. other; cities. There is' no city 'in the world where, an epidemic occurs .• that you cannot •- find ■ things

like that.''. . . ~i. ... SOME PRESSING? NEEDS.

: "There-is a pressing need in. Auckland/ for a municipal .' lodging-house," continued. Dr. Purdy, when asked for an opinion oh some of. the places he had - recently inspected. "Such; a houses is . required for the accommodation . of -people "engaged in casual labour. .'.,!:-From what I have seen, the need for such a' place is far more pressing than the housing . of the working class, laudable as that scheme is. I have visited a good many lodging-houses in the city, occupied by ' weekly tenants,' which would, never get a license as a ' common' lodginghouse, and the Act, whereby all .-lodging--,] houses havo to be licensed, is evaded by:; these people, on the plea that the occupants' | are 'weekly tenants.' I find difficulty in condemning this class of property; because there .is no place to put the people in if i they were turned out. There were premises which I inspected to-day used as a lodging-house, and there were about 70 people occupying them. These people would have had nowhere to go if the place had been condemned. The places we have seen to-day, but I more particularly refer to one; are for people who can only afford 6d per night or thereabouts, or.2s. 6d per week,' for accommodation. I find a.considerable number of people in Auckland living -in these conditions; I saw about 60 to-day; alone." - ~-/'-' ._ ,-."',: " I : found ,the house structurally defective and "overcrowded," went on the doctor. " Why, we found 20 lodgers in a place where there was only really accommodation for six. Four of these men were sleeping in a shed constructed of wood and corrugated iron, without any window,- while a sheet .of iron was simply bent up a little to act as a ventilater. "Some of the places, however, were clean, but generally the surroundings were dirty, the houses old and dilapidated, and the "sanitary arrangements. very old and defective. Most of these places were occupied by. old men,,comprising old age pensioners, bootblacks,' and such casual labourers. The condition of the natives living in Zulu kraals, from a' sanitary point, of view, is infinitely superior to that 'of l the people herded in these dens of filth and .corruption. You would be. astonished that in a newly civilised country such places should exist."

"ALIVE TO ITS RESPONSIBILITY." In conclusion, Dr. Puvdy said the city was fully alive to all its responsibilities in the matter, and was doing all that was possible. The chief inspector for the city (Mr. Haynes) and his staff had been doing excellent work, and the cleansing of the city was proceeding satisfactorily, and reflected the ; greatest credit on those who had charge of it. Thousands of rats, he said, had been destroyed, and an enormous quantity of rat poison had been distributed. The rats were migrating from Lower Queen-street, where a great deal of cleaning work had been done, to other parts, of the city. In fact, the general crusade against rats in the more thickly populated parts of the city was driving them further afield, and "it behoves. the general public to supplement the work of the authorities in exterminating the rats." The health officer added that two rats had been bacteriologically examined and found to be infected with plague.

STATEMENT BY DR. MASON.

MUNICIPAL FEDERATION FOR DRAINAGE. [MY telegraph.-—own CORRESPONDENT.] ' Wellington, Tuesday. " Everyone is working most amicably," said Dr. Mason (chief health officer) to a representative of the Post this morning, referring to Auckland's energy in cleansing the city. " The City Council and other local authorities are working hand-in-hand with the Health Department. They have put.on a large staff of special cleaners; all the local bodies in the vicinity have bestirred themselves and are doing all' they can to clean up. It is very pleasing to have this attitude, but what is really wanted is a persistent campaign against garbage, filth, and rats. 'There is a tendency on the part of people to forget the necessity of continuing the good work. At present the city engineer is taking levels for a new system of drainage for Auckland. An amalgamation of the various local authorities with the city, either as a Greater Auckland or for the purpose of having one drainage board, is needed at present. There are a large number of small bodies^. more or less encircling Auckland, and to all intents and purposes they are as much Auckland as the city is. It is quite impossible for the city very often to find an outfall for sewage owing to the ." intervening boroughs. It would save money to have one comprehensive scheme instead of allowing every borough, to work out its own salvation." i