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the practice for the Surveyor's Department to carry out this duty, whilst
the Health Department was responsible for testing all drains to which
suspicion attached in inhabited houses. The methods used by the two
Departments being different, it followed that what would satisfy the one,
would not always satisfy the other. It was therefore arranged that before
the Surveyor granted his certificate of the fitness of any new house for
habitation, the drains should be tested by one of his Inspectors in conjunction
with one from the Health Department. This method of co-operation came
into force at the beginning of November, and during the remaining portion
of the year 28 new houses were tested by the two Departments, acting
together. In 50 per cent. of these houses defects were discovered and
remedied. In the majority of these cases the defects were minor ones,
consisting generally of some fault in the ventilating shaft that would not stand
the smoke test. It may fairly be assumed that this careful testing of new
houses will in the near future greatly reduce the number of defects found.
Factories and Workshops.
A list of Factories, Workshops and Workplaces is appended, and on
comparing it with the similar list given last year, it will be seen that the
total number is now 203, as compared to 164 in 1903. The list is possibly
not yet complete, and does not of course include the large number of shops in
which no manufactures are carried on. The number of inspections of which
notes were kept amounted to 257, and the number of contraventions of the
Factory Acts found was 16, none of them serious.