Volume 1

Second report.

  • Great Britain. Royal Commission on the State of Large Towns.
Date:
1845
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Second report. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    46/518 (page 34)
    Drainage. Limited jurisdiction. Third Recommendation. IV. On the qualifica- tions of officers, and the power of the Crown over i their appoint- ment. to the proper execution of all effective works of drainag'e, as well as of those for cleansing (as we shall afterwards show), and of the works for the supply of water, and of those con- nected with or dependent on drainage, that they should he laid down and connected with reference to well-defined na- tural boundaries, and that the system of sewerage must be based upon well arranged main lines. Cases will arise when it will be necessary for the effectual drainage of a town to convey the sewers through private lands to a distant point of discharge, but it may not be just to charge the whole or any portion of the expenses on such lands ; the powers required in such cases would be the same that are now granted by Parliament in most local improve- ment Acts, enabling the Commissioners to carry drains through private lands on paying compensation. For the protection, however, of such interests, we con- template that, in each case, the necessity for an extension of jurisdiction should become the object of a special inquiry made on the spot, under the direction of some competent and independent officer, not unduly influenced by local views or considerations. An inquiry conducted by an officer acting under the Crown, would be a means of providing a better security than even now exists, against a wranton and unneces- sary invasion of private rights. The present mode of initi- ating and passing private Acts, and the expense that must be incurred by individuals, either in prosecuting their own claims or in opposing those of others before Parliament, would be materially diminished by the intervention of a competent authority, to procure a preparatory report on the measure, and inquire into the claims to compensation and the equitable distribution of charges.* “ As a remedy for these evils, and to render unnecessary “ the frequent applications to Parliament for additional “ powers and extension of jurisdiction, we recommend “ that the Crown be empowered to define and to en- “ large from time to time the area for drainage “ included within the jurisdiction of the local admi- “ nistrative body. IV. In the present system of local government, the admi- nistrative duties of local improvement Acts are frequently placed under the immediate direction of persons, who are sel- dom qualified by any professional education for the direction of scientific works. They are therefore dependent upon the * First Report, Evidence of Mr. Hawksley, vol. ii. p. 94, et teq. ; Mr. Dean, vol. ii. p. 422, et seq.