1 1 6 The Essentials of House Sanitation — 



working man should have a water-closet, a trapped gully in the 

 yard, and a movable receptacle for refuse, in addition to a 

 separate water supply for domestic purposes. All solid refuse 

 that is not removable by the drains should be deposited in a 

 movable receptacle, to await the dustman's collecting cart. 



Let us now inquire, is it possible to have all the defects 

 referred to altered ? And, if so, what is the remedy ? At the 

 outset, take for our encouragemen the opinion of Arthur 

 Cohen, Q.C., M.P., who states : — " So far as the structure and 

 condition of the houses of our poor are concerned, the evils 

 which have been described in language so powerful and graphic, 

 and which undoubtedly exist, might all be removed by the 

 exercise of legislative provisions which at this moment are 

 contained in the statute-book. Indeed, it is extremely difficult, 

 if it is possible, to detect a single blot in the social condition — 

 so far as their dwellings are concerned — of our poor, for which 

 their does not now exist a statutory remedy." 



We have here a distinct reference to the sanitary acts, which 

 provide for the removal of everything — structural or otherwise 

 — that may be injurious to health. This reference involves the 

 duty of the landlord, the tenant, and the sanitary authorities 

 respectively. The landlord or " owner " is defined as the person 

 who receives the rent for the time being, whether on his own 

 account, or as agent or trustee for any other person. The 

 tenant is, of course, the immediate occupier. The sanitary 

 authority is the City Council acting through its sanitary 

 department, which " is responsible for providing that all drains, 

 water-closets, sinks, lavatories, gully traps, earth-closets, privies, 

 ashpits, and cesspools within their district, be constructed, 

 trapped, covered, ventilated, and kept so as not to be a nuisance, 

 or injurious to health." (See a Digest of the Public Health 

 Act, 1 879, by W. D. Wodsworth, Assistant-Secretary, Local 

 Government Board.) 



The local authorities are bound to see that the premises are 

 properly constructed as dwellings, and therefore they have to 

 deal with the landlord or owner ; and they must also see that 



