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and conferring on sanitary authorities the power, which they
should be obliged to exercise, of regulating the trade by bye-laws
uniform for the Metropolis, and dealing with (1) the position and
construction, including lighting and ventilation, of bakehouses, (2)
the periodical cleansing of them, and (3) the materials and
utensils employed in the manufacture of bread. These views
were adopted by your Vestry in 1882, and in January, 1883, they
were communicated to the other Vestries and District Boards.
The Society of Medical Officers of Health forwarded to the Home
Secretary a memorial which I had drafted, in which the grounds
for placing the bakehouses under the sanitary authorities were set
out. The Operative Bakers and Confectioners' Union, in the
same year, addressed the Government on the subject, in a
memorial which stated that "at present almost any kitchen or
cellar is turned into a bakehouse, often in close proximity to drams,
many being even undrained and totally unfit places for the manufacture
of human food." And subsequently the President of
the Local Government Board received a deputation from the
Union, which stated that "the unsatisfactory condition of bakehouses
seriously affected the wholesome character of bread,
and injuriously affected the health of the operatives." The
President observed, in reply, that the Government proposed, by
legislation, to prevent the construction of underground bakehouses
for the future, but that he could not then hold out any promise
as to inspection. In the last days of the session (1883), however,
the Factory and Workshop Amendment Act was passed, by
which your Vestry are constituted "local authority" in the
Parish so far as relates to cleanliness, ventilation, overcrowding,
and other sanitary conditions of bakehouses—with power to enforce
sections 3, 33, 34, and 35 of the Factory and Workshop
Act, 1878. The President's attention was drawn by me to the
imperfect character of the provisions of the Bill, qua bakehouses,
but there was no time to get it amended. There has been no
fresh legislation on the subject since. The Society of Medical
Officers of Health prepared "Suggestions for Regulations with
respect to Bakehouses," for the guidance of local authorities.