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110
They smoke tobacco from pipes and cigarettes during the kneading of the dough ;
semi-nude, profuse perspiration drips down their shoulders and arms into the
dough ; the utensils are unclean. Many of the bakehouses are reported " unfit
for their purpose, being underground, dark, ill-ventilated, damp, very small, unduly
hot, often filled with vapour, cobwebs and dust ornamenting the walls, the holes
and corners of these converted dwelling-houses not cleaned out Sinks
were found without traps and uncovered in the bakehouse; the lime washing*
done in an imperfect manner ; water closets in the bakehouses, some without
water supply or ventilation." Refuse not removed accumulates under the troughs,
and acted on by "damp and heat generates insects innumerable." In one
bakehouse a horse was stabled, his litter filthy; in another rabbits were running
about fattening upon the offal flour, and in a third fowls were roosting above
the (covered) trough. " Liquid manure from a stable " was seen " running under
sacks of flour ; the imperfect drain of a privy overflowing upon a bakehouse floor ; "
and lastly, an " open drain two feet square, into which liquid from an adjoining
premises flowed," was seen used as a cooler for " tins of buns." "Therefore,''
says the Factory Inspector, " I do not think that for humanity's sake we should
regret that the inspection of bakehouses has been added to our duties."
Truly a formidable indictment against the policy of recent
legislation, and one which may well cause the public to " regret
that the inspection of bakehouses has been added to the
duties " of factory inspectors, who appear to have no sufficient
time to attend to it, and who, so far as one can judge from this, the
only report on bakehouses in the report of the Chief Inspector,
neither enforce the sanitaiy provisions of the Act nor exercise the
power they possess of calling in the sanitaiy authority to their
assistance when they happen to inspect a bakehouse and find a
nuisance therein.
It would be a libel upon sanitary inspectors to suppose, as the
factory inspector would seem to imply, that they had left bakehouses
at the end of 1878, in the abominable condition above described as
existing in 1880—81, and for all we know to the contrary still
existing; and we can only surmise that bakehouses have fallen into
a condition because factory inspectors have neglected their duty.
The report, however, will have had one good effect inasmuch as it
has led to a general inspection of bakehouses by sanitary inspectors,
who, whatever their legal status, will not be likely to allow such
nuisances as the factory inspector describes, to continue without,
at least, making a vigorous effort to remove the scandal.
It has been contended, indeed, that sanitary officials have no
right of entry into a bakehouse now that the Bakehouse Regulation
Act, 1863, has been repealed, and it is not long since I saw this