The Medical Officer of Health for Paddington referred (1876) to the disastrous results of cases of infectious illness not being notified to the sanitary authority, and so enabling precautions being taken to stamp out the infection.
"Such a state of matters, with the annual huge mortality consequent thereon, will continue until an educated people, conscious of its duties and jealous of its rights, demands from a tardy executive the intervention of the legislature to prevent it."
The Vestries and District Boards were gradually doing a good deal of useful work of the sort which did not much conflict with private interests. The great main drainage works of the Central Authority had enabled them to improve and extend their sewerage and drainage works, and from 1856 up to March, 1872, they had borrowed from the Metropolitan Board of Works £757,000 for this purpose;[130] and the total length of brick and pipe sewer which they constructed in that period was very close upon 700 miles.
"The large amount which has been expended on works of sewerage and paving, shows that the local authorities in the metropolis have not been unmindful of the requirements of their several districts."
St. Giles' reported in 1872 that its sewerage was very complete, "not a single street or court being without a sewer."
"£33,500 has been spent in new sewers in the parish in the last three years, and £7,000 is to be spent. Over three miles of new sewers were constructed. These are large items in our parochial expenditure, but the fact cannot be ignored that the sewerage of the parish had got into a disgraceful and indeed dangerous condition.
"In some of the finest streets and squares of the parish the sewers were but little better than elongated cesspools."
Bermondsey reported, in 1872, that the entire district was drained into low level sewers, all open sewers, tidal and other ditches, and cesspools having been abolished; £5,200 expended in widening and improving certain streets, £92,000 spent in sewerage, paving, and other improvements.
St. Mary, Newington, reported in 1871 that the whole of the open sewers and tidal ditches had been covered over; that the drainage was in a satisfactory condition, and that within a few pounds of £400,000 had been spent since 1856 in various parish works and maintenance.