“Every local authority shall keep in repair[174] all sewers belonging to them, and shall cause to be made such sewers as may be necessary for effectually draining their district for the purposes of this Act”[175] (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 15). “Every local authority shall cause the sewers belonging to them to be constructed, covered, ventilated,[176] and kept so as not to be a nuisance or injurious to health, and to be properly cleansed and emptied”[177] (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 19). As to what sewers do “belong” to the local authority, the following section of the Public Health Act 1875 states: “All existing and future sewers within the district of a local authority, together with all buildings, works, materials, and things belonging thereto, “Except “(1.) Sewers made by any person for his own profit, or by any company for the profit of the shareholders; and “(2.) Sewers made and used for the purpose of draining, preserving, or improving land under any local or private Act of Parliament, or for the purpose of irrigating land; and “(3.) Sewers under the authority of any commissioners of sewers appointed by the Crown, shall vest in and be under the control of such local authority. “Provided that sewers within the district of a local authority which have been, or which may hereafter be constructed by or transferred to some other local authority, or by or to a sewage board or other authority empowered under any Act of Parliament to construct sewers, shall (subject to any agreement to the contrary) vest in and be under the control of the authority who constructed the same, or to whom the same have been transferred” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 13). And as to the definition of the word “sewer,” the same Act states: “‘Sewer’ includes sewers and drains of every description, except drains to which the word ‘drain’[178] interpreted as aforesaid applies, and except drains vested in or under the control of any authority having the management of roads and not being a local authority under this Act.” The result of this acquisition by the local authority of the sewers in their district is, that in most of the old cities and towns a legacy of very defective and imperfect sewers has been inherited, and considerable expense in their repair and maintenance has thus been entailed. A great number of books have been written on the subject of sewerage, and much valuable information has been published from time to time, so that it almost seems superfluous to say much upon the subject; however, a few remarks which are particularly applicable to the work of a town surveyor may be of some service.