The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1877-04-07

ton have, at all events, had the effect of attract
ing the attention of the public to this grave
subject of the health and cleanliness of our
householdsI Il Is for the government to make
timely provision for the prevention OF some hor-
Z rible pcstilence, such as decimated Buenos Ayres
in ls72--as we previously put forward-when
medical science traced the strange and terrible
plague to the accumulation of orduresaand it
appeared that in many households the a." closet
was only separated from the kitchen and pantry
by a boarded partition, or simply a canvas
screen In another column, we propose to
publish some extracts on this subject from an
authoritative British report. At present, we
wish TO draw attention to an interesting article
on the sam subject published in a recent number
Of the American Ag-icuhHrist-a New York
periodical, which is also translated into German.
Our readers will note, that we are not alone in
the discussion Of this otherwise disgusting topic.
The fact is that we believe We may state that
this difficult question occupies the pens of jOurn-
alists, economists, politicians and statesmen in
the most prominent manner at the present day,
throughout the Wide civilized, and ceanly world.
Two different plans appear to divide general
o-pinion-removal and sewerage. All agree that
the reeklng stagnaIt pool of human ordures can
not be long suffered to seethe and swelter in the
midst of populou centres, without its being
.attended with its Inevitable concomitants-pesti-
Hence and death 4! No human being, above the
condition Of a brue, can have any doubt about
this view of the ,ase. Very naturally, then,
the question is anGously asked What is to be
done? As is obviOm, there are only two plans
removal and ewrage. Now, to come to our
own case, here in Honolulu, We CLEAN from
reliable opinions tina: sewerage is not so practical
BILE in this place as 'emoyal. It remains for the
government to decide what plan to adopt, and we
would add a warnin, word that no time is to be
lost. The hot season is fast approaching, and
the condition of the : closets here is absolutely
horrifying. From What we hear, we incline to
think that removal is the most feasible plan.
Taking this view of the case, we proposed to
refer to the article ofthe american Agricuhurist
to which we alluded a,ove, and which is entitled
How to manage right-soil ?" The writer,
however, supposes thai the " night-soil > is to be
utilized subsequently or agricultural purposes
hence, his plan of removing it is more costly
than one intended simply to get rid of it. He
explains that the remval takes place at night,
from which circumstance the term 8 night-soil -
is derived. According to the methods adopted
in England, German and France, wagons
with tight boxes, or carts, are sent to the place.
of removal and "vheelbarrows with tight
boxes are generally usd to convey the soil from
the cess-pool." To 0lidify the fecal matter,
earth and straw is mixed with it but this is
also done with a view to subsequent purposes of
manure. In our own case, allowing that the
night-soil is of no vaue here, nevertheless it is
plain that it must be got rid of either by sewer
age or removal ; and in the latter case, as the
American Agricuhurist suggests, carts and wheel
purposes of removal. Assuming that, at present,
the "night-soil" is vdueless as manure, a
locality remote from all habitations, should be
selected, where it could be buried in deep under
ground pits, covered over with a layer of earth,
five or six feet deep, and the remainder of the
excavated clay shovelled over it in the shape of a
mound. None of these pits should be left open
longer than would be necessary to Gil it with
" night-soil," and cover It in with earth. In
short, the work of filing and covering in the pit
should be done in one night. Before concluding,
as a matter of history, we may remark that in
India, according to a law four thousand years in
existence, a special case is set apart for the
removal Of ordures from the households-of so
much Importance was this difficult question.
An intelligent correspondent writing from
Maui, makes some pactical suggestions on this
subject.