Dr. Peyton Blakiston, was living in the immediate neighbourhood of St. Leonards, and was of opinion that the town required sanitary improvement. It might be one of the cleanest and best ventilated towns in the Kingdom, but it was not so.
Mr. Stephen Putland, surveyor and merchant, resided a short distance eastward of St. Leonards proper; was a member of the Town Council and Board of Guardians. He could corroborate the statement of Mr. Cresy as to the action of the tides on some of the drains. The intermediate district comprised upwards of 100 houses and more were being erected. That portion of the borough had no act of parliament. The St. Leonards Commissioners, he believed, were lengthening the outlets on the beach, and were building a tank to improve the water supply. There was no general system of drainage at Hastings, and it was not so well drained as St. Leonards. Hastings was thickly populated, and a sanitary remedy was required. The greater portion of St. Leonards was in the Magdalen parish. There were three turnpike acts in the borough and two railway acts, but still a deficiency of power.
Mr. Thomas Ross (1810-1881) lived in the intermediate district — namely, Claremont, in the Holy Trinity parish; was a member of the Town Council and the Board of Guardians. He acted as Secretary to the Sanitary committee in 1849. Several houses at the western extremity of St. Leonards were then in a bad state, but he could not certify to the existence of those nuisances at the present time.
Mr. John Peerless was also a member of the Town Council and the Board of Guardians. He had lived in St. Leonards twenty years. He had served with Mr. Ross on the sanitary committee in 1849, and believed that some of the houses referred to, up to three months back were in the same condition.
Mr. John Goldsworthy Shorter, Town Clerk at Hastings, said the length of the borough along the front was about 4¼ miles. It was divided into two wards. The East Ward contained 11,853 inhabitants, of whom 968 were burgesses. The West Ward contained 5,680 inhabitants, of whom 253 were burgesses. The value of the borough assessment was £38,760 in the East Ward, and £17,371 in the West Ward. Twelve councillors were elected by the East Ward and six by the West. Did not consider it any opposition to the Government to oppose the General Board of Health as it first appeared with Hastings excluded. When he took steps to oppose the Bill he communicated with the Mayor, and he did not think the Mayor had sworn to the contrary. This terminated the case for the Bill.
Mr. Talbott , on behalf of the petitioners, then addressed their lordships. He would not now consider the legality of the provisional order, nor whether the town of Hastings ought to receive the application of the Health of Towns Act, but whether it was proper and expedient that St. Leonards should be included in the provisional order contrary to its expressed will. In its present form the Bill was conducted by one of the officers of the Board of Health, and he had told them that he was promoting that Bill contrary to the views of Lord Seymour. Their lordships would take that as a sign of -
