I now give two estimates, both relating to the same district:—
Comparative Expense of Cleaning and Watering the Streets, &c., of St. James’s Parish; under the system now in operation by the Paving Board, and under the sanitary system of employing street-orderlies, as recommended by 779 ratepayers. It is assumed, from reasonable data, that the superficial contents of all the streets, lanes, courts, and alleys in the parish, do not amount to more than 80,000 square yards.
“Present Annual Expense of Cleansing St. James’s Parish:—
| Paid to contractor for carrying away slop, including expense of brooms | £800 | 0 | 0 |
| Paid to 23 men, average wages, 10s. per week, 52 weeks | 598 | 0 | 0 |
| £1398 | 0 | 0 |
“Annual Expense of Street-Orderly System:—
| 30 men (including those with hand-barrows), at 10s. per week, 52 weeks | £780 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Expense of brooms | 30 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Cartage of slop | 100 | 0 | 0 | |||
| £910 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| £488 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Saving by diminished expense of street-watering throughout the parish | 450 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Annual prospective saving | £938 | 0 | 0 | |||
“Obs.—The sum of 800l. per annum was paid to the contractor on account of expenses incurred for the removal of slop. During the three years previous to 1849, the contractor paid money to the parish for permission to remove the house-ashes, the value of which was then 2s. per load; it is now 2s. 6d. In St. Giles’s and St. George’s parishes, whose surface is more than twice the extent of St. James’s, the expense of slop-cartage, in 1850, was 304l. 14s. 0d., whilst the sum received for cattle-manure collected by street-orderlies, was 73l. 14s. 0d.; and the slop-expenses for the four months ending November 29, were 59l. 18s. 6d., whilst the manure sold for 21l. 6s. 0d. Thus has the slop-expense in these extensive united parishes been reduced to less than 120l. per annum. Since the preceding estimate was submitted to the Commissioners of Paving, the street-orderly system has been introduced into St. James’s parish; and it is confidently expected that the ‘Annual Prospective saving’ of 938l., will be fully realised.”
A similar estimate has just been sent into the authorities of the great parish of St. Marylebone, but its results do not differ from the one I have just cited.
I next present an estimate contrasting the expense of the street-orderly method with the cost of employing sweeping-machines:—
“Comparative Expense of Cleansing and Watering the Streets, &c., of St. Martin’s Parish, under the system now in operation by the Paving Board, and under the sanatory system of employing street-orderlies, as recommended by 703 ratepayers. It is assumed, from reasonable data, that the superficial contents of all the streets, lanes, courts, and alleys in the parish, amount to about 70,000 square yards.