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28
During the year my opinion has been asked by several
persons proposing to establish some manufactories in the District
which would evolve unpleasant if not deleterious vapours, and
in all cases I told them, that if the manufactories when
established should in any way whatever prove to be a nuisance,
proceedings would be taken against them. Under these circumstances
the proposed manufactories were not established. I
have also taken action against a preparer of sausage skins, who
after my inspection, and a communication from me, removed
out of the District. Applications were also made to tho
Metropolitan Board of Works for newly establishing two
slaughter houses, but when the View Committee and myself
visited the sites, they were found to be unfit for the purpose,
being closely surrounded with houses, and were therefore
successfully opposed.
Although the number of houses inspected under the provisions
of the Sanitary Act was not so large as in former years, yet tho
amount of work done, was much greater than usual. This is what
might have been expected, as there are three Sanitary Inspectors
instead of two. But the number of houses and articles of clothing
disinfected was considerably in excess of former years. The table
appended shows that during the year there were 1,045 houses
disinfected by the Officers of the Board, and the infected rooms
subsequently cleansed, whitewashed and re-papered by the
owners or occupiers. That 751 beds, 232 mattresses, 46
palliasses, 549 bolsters, 1,204 pillows, 782 blankets, 510 sheets,
424 quilts, and 2,084 other articles were, after fumigation with
sulphur, removed to the disinfecting chamber of the Board, and
exposed to a temperature of 250° Fahr., and re-sulphured.
The total number of articles removed and disinfected was 6,582.
These articles were removed as soon as the patients were taken
to the hospital or recovered, and it is to this action that I
attribute the comparative rarity with which small pox spread
through a house when we had early notification of the disease.