170 ADELAIDE AND VICINITY The Railway-Builders and in 1876 Parliament authorised the construc- tion of a tramline from King William Street to Kensington and Nor wood — a distance of three miles. The question of inaugurating a scheme of drainage in the metropolitan area secured a great deal of attention in this period, but nothing of special importance was decided on. In 1873 a Public Health Act was passed, under which the City Council acted as the Local Board of Health. It immediately framed by-laws and regulations necessary to enforce the provisions of the measure, but experienced difficulty in bringing them into operation. The Torrens was for a time the main sewer, which received the output of the drains. Various proposals for obtaining a scientific system of drainage were debated, St. Peter's College, Hackney Pkince Alfred College, Kent Town
