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received from 28 persons, which, with the one application received
in the previous year, makes a total of 29 premises in respect of
which certificates were desired. Inspection was made of each of
these premises, an exhaustive Report respecting each case
being presented to the Public Health Committee, and each case
was judged upon its merits.
I think it was very wise policy on the part of the Committee
that they decided, at the commencement of this period, that no
arbitrary standard should be fixed in relation to these requirements
for underground Bakehouses, but that harshness and injustice
would be less likely to occur if each individual case was judged
on its merits. The requirements usually specified included the
following:—That the walls should be of a hard, impervious
character, having a perfectly smooth surface, with the lower
portion of the wall to a height of 4 feet 6 inches from the floor
faced with white glazed bricks, tiles or opalite, set in Portland
cement, and uniformly jointed, the upper portion being a welltrowelled
Portland cement surface; the floor also to be of a hard,
impervious material, having a perfectly smooth surface. The
ceiling to be effectually secured from the entrance of dust and
dirt from the shop or other rooms above. The cubic contents of
the Bakehouse to be not less than 1,500 cubic feet. The lighting
to be such that, ordinarily, a newspaper might be read in any part
of the Bakehouse. The ventilation to be of a thorough character,
and in some cases it has been found necessary to provide electric
fans to aid the ordinary ventilation. Proper lavatory accommodation
and means for the personal ablution of the workpeople,
and satisfactory accommodation for the hanging of wearing
apparel, also had to be provided.