§ 77. Mr. JOHN WILLIAMSasked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the Report of the medical officer of health for the Swansea Rural Council, made to that authority on the 1300 10th instant, to the effect, it is alleged, that one or more horses have been poisoned by the effect of spelter fumes upon the grass they had been grazing in fields adjacent to the Swansea Vale Spelter Works; and, in view of the further Report of the said medical officer that, owing to the deposits upon the land, in close proximity to the said works, of lead, arsenic, and zinc, and his warning to the public of Llansamlet to be chary in the use of their home-grown vegetables, he will cause an inquiry to be made with a view to devising ways and means of determining the alleged nuisance in the interests of the public health?
The PRESIDENT of the LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. Bums)My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. I have not seen the Report referred to in the question, but I have been in communication with the Rural District Council on this subject in consequence of a previous Report, and have reminded the Rural District Council of their powers, under Section 108 of the Public Health Act,1875, to take action with regard to any nuisance caused by the works in question.