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adequate examination of every carcase, but the question af present is more urgent
in country districts than in London. Inspection of shops and other places where
food is sold or prepared for sale is fairly satisfactory, but in country districts food
inspection is very inadequate, and in some, even non-existent.
The establishment of public abattoirs in rural districts is impracticable, if not
impossible, and the solution of the problem is probably in the direction of licensing
suitable and experienced men as slaughterers. A licensed slaughterman could always
be under the control of a constituted authority, and as the license would presuppose
a certain amount of knowledge of the more commonly diseased conditions in cattle,
there would be no excuse for ignorance. I am well aware of the objections that
suitable men could not be obtained in country districts. The same objection was
raised when the licensing of midwives was proposed, but by the help of grants from
County Councils and other authorities there has been no dearth of midwives in
country districts, and no one now denies the benefits which have accrued from the
passing of the Midwives Act. Possibly at the commencement there would be a
difficulty in obtaining suitable men as licensed slaughterers, but the demand usually
creates a supply.
General Sanitary Work.
In the Sanitary Inspectors' Report table will be found the amount of work
carried out by each Inspector during the year, together with its nature.
42,883 houses were inspected, 5,6'21 being the result of house to house
inspection.
14,719 intimation notices were served for the abatement of various
nuisances, for which it was necessary to serve 6,089 statutory notices before the
defects vere remedied.
70,893 re-visits were made to supervise the abatement of the nuisances
complained of.
1,210 visits were made to the houses of consumptive people who had been
notified to be suffering from that disease.
Police Court proceedings were taken in 72 instances where the statutory
notices were disregarded. This number does not, of course, include proceedings
under the Food and Drugs Acts.
8,876 drains were tested with smoke, and 2,533 were either constructed or
re-constructed, cleansed or repaired, and 956 were trapped.
292 new soil pipes were fixed and ventilated ; 1,830 new closet pans and
traps were fixed, and 2,240 closets were either cleansed and repaired or provided