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and it was felt at that time that it would be better for the
Medical Officer of Health to be in more intimate relationship with
the Sanitary Inspectors, and it was, therefore, decided not to
make a fresh appointment of Chief Inspector. In 1908 three
additional Inspectors were appointed after an enquiry in to the
sanitary state of the district by the Local Government Board,
and two Inspectors were appointed to administer the Food and
Drugs Acts, and do the food inspection generally, while one
Inspector was appointed to look after the wharves under the
Unsound Food Regulations. This latter appointment was only
for the wharves in the West end of the Borough, and the Food
and Drugs Inspector for the East half of the Borough devoted
one-eighth of his time to the remaining portion of the wharves.
This arrangement continued until the Senior Wharves Inspector
retired in 1922, when it was decided to revert to the old plan of
all the Inspectors taking samples under the Food and Drugs
Acts. This continued until May, 1924, but was found to be
unsatisfactory. Taking the Food and Drug samples, and looking
after food generally is a special business, and requires a considerable
amount of natural aptitude. It was then decided to give
the Food and Drugs' work to one man, and to appoint an additional
district inspector.
On the coming in of the Meat Regulations, I reported that
it would require a special man to administer them for the same
reason that it requires a special man to do the Food and Drug'
work; but on the matter coming before the Committee there was
considerable amount of opposition, and I was instructed to draw
up a special report on the feasibility of having a Chief Inspector,
mot only to carry out the Meat Regulations, but to supervise the
work of the District Inspectors generally. My proposals were
accepted by the Committee and the Council, the result being
that, at the present time, we have one Chief Inspector, seven
District Inspectors, one Market Inspector, one Food and Drugs
Inspector, two Wharves Inspectors, and one clerk acting as a temporary
District Inspector. The criticism may be made that we
have kept altering our system, but it is only by experiments of
this kind that one can find out which is the best method of dis-