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your Officer of Health, where required, not only as regards their
internal condition, but as regards the water supply, the state of
the privies, and the accumulations of dust and other refuse matter.
And here I would again observe, that such operations cannot be
carried out whilst your Inspectors of Nuisances are compelled to
perform the duties at present laid upon them.
My former recommendations that these regular and systematic
inspections should go on throughout the District, met with an
opposition at the Board which I had not anticipated, and upon
grounds which can scarcely be said to be tenable. It was urged
that such an inspection would be an inquisitorial act on the part of
the Board; that such inspections were not necessary; and that no
Epidemic was prevailing of sufficient magnitude to require such an
intervention.
Gentlemen, it was in consequence of a severe Epidemic that those
suggestions were made. It was in consequence of my knowledge
of the increased mortality of the District during the past year, as
shown to you in the annexed Tables, that I was induced to offer
such recommendations. But even admitting that no such epidemic
mortality was or had been existing at the time, I felt it my duty on
other grounds of equal importance, to advance the adoption of such
necessary preventive measures. Far better is it to take timely and
reasonable precautions to fortify your dwellings against the invasion
of an enemy, than to have to combat and expel him when once
a firm lodgment has been effected. As to its being an inquisitorial
act of the Board, or being an infringement of the liberty of the
subject, it might rather be designated an attempt to prevent the improper liberties of the subject; for what right has any man to keep
his premises in such a state as to deteriorate health and shorten
life ? It is not only those unfortunate individuals who live in close
proximity to such places, but the whole district is more or less
affected by the generation of those elements of disease in such
centres of filth and decomposing organic matter. I can also with
truth affirm, that, amidst all the inspections that I have made, and
I believe the same observations will generally apply to the In
spectors of Nuisances, very little, if any, opposition has ever been
offered to a general inspection of such premises as appeared to be