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63
making enquiries about these men, I found they were not an adjunct to the
district. I then visited the Regional Officer under the National Service
Regulations, and acquainted him with the facts. The business was soon
closed and I have not seen these men in the district since.
It will be necessary to adopt bye-laws to deal with those businesses thar
were established previous to the confirmation of the Order.
The Shops' Act during the year has been well observed, and the traders
generally seem to be agreed that early closing is a benefit. Long and late
hours are, I hope, a thing of the past, and it is to be hoped they will never
return.
The Rag Flock Act. In this district rag ttock is not manufactured,
those doing upholstery work and who sell mattresses and other articles containing
flock, buy the flock under a guarantee, samples of which I have
taken. The mattresses generally are stamped as follows :—"The filling of
this article is guaranteed sanitary, having been thoroughly washed, and is
of the standard of cleanliness required by the Local Government Board
Regulations."
Pig keeping by allotment holders did not expand to the extent I anticipated,
no doubt this was partly due to the price of meal. The pigs generally
were kept in a very clean condition.
Gipsies. These nomads, towards the end of the year, began to give us
a deal of trouble, especially a party of French and Swiss gipsies, who were
much overcrowded and filthy. We were continually moving them, but they
soon returned; however, at last I had to take proceedings against them, but
they cleared off just before the summons was served.
Canal Boats. There were II registered boats inspected during the
year, and only one contravention found, i.e., a defective cabin top. This
has since been remedied. The tendency is to discontinue the using of boats
as dwellings, and year by year the number of registered boats decreases.
Although there has been very great traffic on the river during the year, the
boats seen were generally those doing work for the Government. The
canal boats work could be more efficiently performed by an officer having
control of the whole of the waterway. Frequently I spend many hours waiting
for boats without any good results.
The rat nuisance received much attention. We laid down a large
quantity of various poisons, also a quantity of virus, and from my own
observations a great number of rats have been destroyed. To keep these
pests down it will be necessary to continue the operation, for if only a few
are left, it is not long before the place becomes again infested.
It gives me much pleasure to express my appreciation of the valuable
assistance given me by Mr. Winter, and the hearty co-operation of the
female inspectors and clerical staff, in the carrying out of the work of the
Department through another trying year.