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145
inquiry, and take such action as may seem proper for the purpose of
enforcing the law. The Inspector may, for the purposes of Section 4,
take with him into the bakehouse a medical officer of health or inspector
of nuisances."
It would be interesting to know on bow many occasions the
Inspector availed himself of the services of sanitary officials,who,
I venture to say, would have had little difficulty in abolishing
"abominable closets in bakehouses," and none at all in "securing
a water supply" for closets, or, wherever practicable, in cutting
off sinks from drains, thus doing away with the occasion for
"traps to sinks " in bakehouses.
Another Inspector reports that in many bakehouses there are
no drains; in some no sinks; but it is not clear whether this is
said by way of commendation, or to express deficiencies. He,
like his other two colleagues, complains of "defective ventilation,"
and of "refuse collections.'' "This latter offence
against cleanliness . . . must be stopped," it is said, but
there is no evidence of any attempt to stop it.
The Chief Inspector refers to sundry reports on bakehouses
by medical officers of health, elicited by his 1881 report.
In these reports he says: —
"An enumeration is given of various instances of accumulation of refuse
under the troughs and of untrapped drains, of floors badly paved, of
ceilings broken, of water-closets badly placed, of bakehouses badly
lighted, and of the trade being carried on in places totally unfitted to
be used for the preparation of food."
"Proper inspection," he adds, "would mitigate the two first-named
defects—dirty state and untrapped drains; but there is no power to
order repairs to floorings or ceilings . . . or to prevent sinks
and drains in bakehouses, and herein consists the weakness of the
present bakehouse regulations."
It is to be regretted that the Inspectors do not, by "proper
inspection," mitigate or remove defects capable of mitigation or
removal: or, if they doubt their own powers under the
Act, that they should not systematically seek the co-operation
of the sanitary authorities, who, probably, would show them
how to get "badly paved floors" and "broken ceilings" repaired,