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Board of Health, entirely approves of the dry system, after havine 

 made special investigation of the subject in his recent visit to England. 



But if we presume that underground drainage effected, and even 

 dry closets adopted, the mortality of Hobart or any other colonial 

 city will be reduced to the minimum rate, we shall arrive at a wrong 

 conclusion. 



Although I do not know much about waterworks, I do know this, 

 that they are quite as important a factor in the public health as sewers, 

 and they are at the present time receiving close attention. I should 

 like to have referred to other subjects touching the public health, but 

 there is not time. Old and dilapidated buildings should be demolished ; 

 all the cesspits in the public schools of the colony should bo abolished ; 

 the streets should be paved with wood (Tasmanian wood), and then 

 there would be an end to costly metalling ; new slaughter-houses 

 should be erected ; infectious diseases should be energetically dealt 

 with, and infected houses cleansed. 



Filthy houses (where freshly vaccinated children have erysipelas or 

 abscesses, and the fault is laid on the vaccine in place of being laid on 

 the filthy house), require strict sanitary supervision, and many other 

 measures too numerous to mention this evening, although of vital 

 importance, all require consideration. These cannot be done by a 

 waive of the hand, but they may be considered sysiemaiised, and 

 gradually enforced, and with each step that is taken we may expect 

 that the standard of health will rise. 



At the conclusion of his paper, which was received with cheers, Mr. 

 Bastow added, in reply to questions, that the system of altering the 

 old cesspits into the dry-oloset system was not completed when ho 

 left Manchester. With regard to the fact that water system was 

 adopted in the Manchester Town Hall, he pointed out that the officer 

 of health was appointed in 1868, and the health department was created 

 the same year. The contract for the building of the town hall had 

 commenced before then, and all the plans and specifications were 

 completed some years before. If that had not been so, he would not 

 have opposed the earth-closet for a building like that, which was seven 

 or eight storeys high. 



Dr. Perkins : But there are 11,000 watcrclosets in Manchester at the 

 present time. 



Mr. Bastow : I believe that is so. Waterclosets arc allowed to be 

 built with the sanction of the Health department. 



Mr. Morton instanced the case of "Norwich, where the sewerage 

 system was expected to cost £28,000, but after spending the second 

 hundred thousand they were no better than when they commenced. 

 With regard to sewerage affecting the fish at the fisheries exhibition, 

 papers were read of the terrible results to fish in every river in Europe. 

 He did not agree with Mr. Bastow's suggestion to pave the streets 

 with wood, while, in Hobart, there was such a good supply of metal, 

 and felt certain it would be very much dearer, while other use could 

 be found for the timber all over the colonies. 



Mr. E. Swan desired to know something of what was being done 

 outside of the two Lancashire towns of Manchester and Liverpool. He 

 would like to know what was being done in sanitary matters at Paris 

 and other Continental cities. 



Dr. Wolfhagen said it was undoubtedly a fact that typhoid was 

 very prevalent in Hobart about autumn, and the fact required some 

 consideration. In Edinburgh there was a lower death rate than any 

 other European cities, except some to the extreme north. There the 

 sewerage was taken out of the town and allowed to flow over some 

 meadows, but there was a project to carry it by extensive sewers into 

 the Frith of Forth. At Edinburgh the circumstances were very 



