The Express.
London, England, 1853-10-05 00:00:00

ME CROP OLITAN COMMISSION OF

SEWERS.

•
A special meeting or the Metropolitan Commix
sioncts of Sewers was held yesterday at the Courthouse
Glee: street, Soho; Richard Jana, Esq., the Chairman of
the Comnwsionen, occupied the chair. The other Me ta bas
of the commission procure/ere Sir J. Burgoyne, Sir W.
CuOitt, and Messrs. T. Gibson, G. S. Smith, and Hawk.
_ _

Mr. 11.srrow, the 'accountant, presented • statement.
from Is ii.ch it appeared that there was • balance in hand of
c\;s7l ; cheques hod been drawn hut not presented to the
amount el 1,343/.,reducing the 'callable balance to 67,211 k,
and mere were cheques to be Jr kern in the course of the day
for 3,:211.

- • - -
Inf. monthly report of the collections showed that the
amount already reported as having b:en received was
171,10/. ; collected during the month, 12,137/. 3i. 9d. ; end
there remained still to be collected 4.5.3391. 17s. 7d.

DISPt TID SATE IN KEXSINGTON.

Mr. Guar wee summoned to show cause why he should
not he ordered to pay several sums, amounting in the
whole to near 2301., in respect of the expense of the drain-
age laid down from &number of homes into the main sewer,
which the commissioners hcd executed in default, after
notice ; and also a sum of 71J., as Lis contribution to the
coot of the main saner.
Mr. NIII.DRA3I, the banister, appeared for Mr. Gray,
who be said was the lessee of a number of houses in Gray's-
piece. The lease had about 12 years to run, the original
lease being only lee 38 years, and the reserved rent was
1001. per annum. The property was situate in the Fulham-
road, and it consisted of 14 houses fronting the road. For-
merly the houses were drained into an open ditch at the
back of the houses, but a sewer was made some years ago
is front of the houses bye Mr. Burning, and the commis-
sioners had ordered that the ditch at the back should be
mend over, and that the houses should be drained into
the main sewer, and drains had been made by the com-
missioner from each of these houses into this front
sewer. Mr. Gray had let all the houses on
lease, them sub-leases expiring a few days pre-
vious to the expiration of his own term. The
commisaioners might make the charge on the occupiers, and
to that Mr. Gray had no ohjection, and that would get rid
of the difficulty. They were bound by their Imes to pay
the sewers' rata, and if they had any rights, as against
Mr. Gray, they could recover them. Mr. Oray was not the
frechol :er, nor was he the occupier.
Toe CHAIILMAN—The act says that the owner shall be
held to be the person who receives the sitarists.
Mr. NIIDMAN however, contended that Mr. Gray was
not the owner, and that to hold him to be so involved an
absurdity, as A might lease to Bat rack rent and B to C,
and so au to the end of the alphabet Then, with regard
to the second item, he contended that it wu a charge that
ought fairly to fall on the district. The Property was satis-
fied before. and the sewer was made for the convenience of
the district.

- .....
11Ir. LATCHFORD, who appeared for the occupiers, sub-
mitted that Mr. Gray ought to pay the whole, or the
greater part of this charge. The tenants had none of them
a beneficial interest, and so far from their leases extending
to within a few days of the termination of the original lease,
some of them were for only five, and some for six and
eight yrars from the present time, and they all paid rack
rect. Nevertheless, they were willing to bear a proportion
if it were scattered over a number of years, so that the coot
should bear equally sip= all parties.
The CHATILHAW said there was no doubt Mr. Gray was
the owner within the meaning of the act. Then there was
an appeal to the discretion of the court to throw the burden
en the occupiers. Now, the practice of the court, and ho
thought the equitable practice, had been to throw the bur-
den on the owner. A third alternative was to throw the
burden on the district. Now, the owner of every house is
Loudon was bound to have the drainage of that house in a
proper state. The owner might be satisfied with the state
of the drainage, but, as guardians of the public health, it
was tho duty of the commissioners, on the information of
private complain■ntsbf a nuisance arising from any hens*, to
see that the nuisance was abated. The court thought that
in this instance na portion of the expense ought to be
thrown on the district. The charge amounted to about
200 L, and the court would scatter it over • period of
eaves years by laying an improvement rate for that period,
the result of which would be that a portion of the expeue
would fall on the tenant and • portion on the landlord, the
act stating that tenants at rack rent might deduct three-
fourths of the rate from the rut doe se tie landlord.
The eon,tibution to the main sewer, 751., was ordered to
he paid by Mr. Gray alone in three instalments, one in six,
one in It, and one in 30 months from the present time.