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54
covered, and, in dealing with the sanitary defects from which
they arose, 416 "Intimation" and 182 "Statutory" notices
were served. At the end of the year 1,361 of the nuisances
had been abated, the work of remedying 69 was in hand, and
the remaining 81 were still outstanding. In order to ascertain
that the notices above referred to were properly complied
with, 1,833 visits were paid to the respective premises while
the necessary work was in progress. The number of letters
written and received in connection with the business of the
department was respectively 785 and 751.
The Dairies, Cowsheds, and Milkshops, and more particularly
the Slaughterhouses, were, unfortunately, not visited
so frequently as is desirable. This was largely due to the
absence of clerical assistance in the department, which necessitated
a considerable amount of time being devoted to office
work by your Inspectors. With a view to obtaining some
relief in this direction, the matter was brought to the notice
of the Public Health Committee by your Medical Officer of
Health at the latter end of the year, and, as a result of their
recommendation to the Staff Committee, a junior clerk was
appointed by the Council to commence his duties at the
beginning of 1905.
During the year, 131 complaints were received with
reference to the alleged existence of nuisances, and each complaint
was promptly investigated. The practice of persons
making written or verbal communications to the Local
Authority with regard to existing nuisances is always encouraged,
for we are thus often enabled to at once deal with
insanitary conditions which otherwise might have remained
a source of danger and annoyance for a considerable period
before being discovered in the ordinary course of inspection.