Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Pollution, Sanitation, Government, Engineering, Palaeontology, Public Health

    Discusses news that Winchester Town Council has agreed to resist an inquiry into the cost of sewerage for the town. Presents statements from various aldermen of the town who testify to the health and cleanliness of the city, and the absurdity of installing drainage. Concludes that Winchester is a 'stronghold of anti-drainists' and 'if it does not become also the stronghold of typhus and scarlatina, the Board of Health is a big mistake'. Notes that a Winchester town councillor would not be 'diddled into drainage' and would only agree to 'a partial drainage [...] for convenience [...] but not on account of health', and thinks this individual is 'a Megatherium, if that Great Beast were discoverable in the Winchester Chalk Formation'. Concludes by noting how much this chalk would be 'enriched' by the 'treasures' that 'waste their sweetness on the Winton air'.