6
tary Commissioner for 1873 (the last one published) that in that year the annual
death-rate at Tanna was 33.22 per mille. It must be remembered that 1873 was
a healthy year, and not a single death from cholera was registered during it in
the entire Tanna Collectorate, but in the town the fever death-rate attained the
very high point of 21.19 per 1,000. In Bombay city during the same year it
was 9.31. Again 4.75 persons in every 1,000 died from bowel complaints,
whilst in Bombay only 2.42 deaths per mille took place from this cause.
20. Although I am not in a position to state exactly what the annual
income of the town is, yet I believe I am right in saying that the municipal
expenditure on sanitation during 1874-75 amounted only to between 7,000 and
8,000 rupees, whereas during that year they had an income of upwards of 31,000
rupees. I think, however, enough has been said to show that there is an urgent
necessity for pressure to be brought to bear upon the Municipality to make it
do its duty in a more efficient manner, and perhaps I may be permitted to indi-
cate what I think ought to be done.
2 1 . I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e , f o r t h e a c c o m m o d a t i o n o f t h e p e o p l e w h o a r e u n p r o
- v i d e d w i t h p r i v i e s , w h o f o r m t h e g r e a t b u l k o f t h e r e s i d e n t s , t h e r e o u g h t t o b e
suitable sites chosen on which they could obey the calls of nature. It is absurd
to think that police orders can compel people to ease themselves at only certain
spots in an inhabited area, unless those spots have been selected within reason
- a b l e d i s t a n c e f r o m t h e i n h a b i t a n t s ' d w e l l i n g s . T h i s a c t i o n o u g h t t o b e t a k e n a t
once, and need not necessarily cause a great outlay of money. It is far better
to have a proper number of sites selected, than one large one which would pro
- b a b l y b e t o o f a r o f f f o r t h e p e o p l e t o v i s i t . I t h i n k t h e e r e c t i o n o f p r i v i e s n e a r
houses should be discouraged as much as possible; but if any permission to
build them is given, they ought to be detached from the house, and have a clear
air space of at least 3 feet all round them.
22. If new public latrines are erected, it will be necessary, of course, to
entertain a larger number of sweepers. We find in Bombay that in the urban
districts 1 sweeper can clean 20 privies a day ; thus the 20 sweepers already
engaged, would only suffice to keep the existing privies clean, and for the new
public latrines not less than 15 additional sweepers would be required. Two
night-soil carts are not enough ; there should be at least six.
23. The house gullies in the urban parts of the town should be paved.
This work should be done by the house-owners. Section 58 of Bombay Act VI,
of 1873, the District Municipal Act, is precisely the same as Section 144 of the
Bombay Municipal Act of 1865, under which miles of house gullies were paved
in Bombay. And similar action ought at once to be taken in Tanna to prevent
the ground in the immediate vicinity of the houses and wells being soaked with
all the liquid refuse of the house, and at the same time the Municipality should
increase its staff of scavengering carts and labourers. Dr. Hojel estimated that
it would take 70 men to cleanse the surface, and I agree with him. When this
has once been thoroughly done, it might be possible, though I do not say it
would be, slightly to reduce the number of men. This strength would only give
1 scavenger to remove the refuse of every 29 houses. The number of scaven
-gering carts ought to be largely increased; should certainly be not less
than 12. And the people should be assisted by the erection, in proper sites, of
dust-boxes into which they should be compelled to throw their house refuse, and
should be no longer allowed to deposit it in the house-gullies from which it is
now never removed.
24. All the filthy, dangerous cesspools should be at once closed and filled
in with sweet earth, and a proper site ought to be selected where the nightsoil
and dry refuse collected could be deposited, and where the town sweepings might
be burnt and their ashes mixed with nightsoil and applied at once to the fields.