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may indulge, and that successfully, for a time, are numerous.
The delays which the law permits are tiresome. Twenty or
thirty visits, including attendances at the police court, appointments
made, broken, and re-made with the landlord, his solicitor,
agent, or work-people, have sometimes been found necessary
before a case of drainage work could be carried through. Such
extreme cases are fortunately exceptional and happily decreasing
in number. Hut every day disputes arise owing to conflicting
interests of landlord and tenant, joint occupiers and separate
owners of adjoining properties which sorely tax the time at the
disposal of the Sanitan Inspector. In the settlement of these
disputes and in bringing the parties together, and often without
recourse to legal preceedings, the intervention of your Chief
Sanitary Inspector has been of the highest service.
Overtime
These contentions between the Vestry and
landlord and between divers interests, constitute
obstacles and hindrances in the course of the performance of
the Inspector's duties which must be taken into account when
considering the requirements of each district of the Parish, and
the increasing amount of work imposed on the Sanitary Inspector
by successive Acts of Parliament. In meeting the enlarged
demands made upon them, your Chief Inspector, your District
Inspectors, and your Sanitary Clerk have cheerfully devoted
much time after official hours, which should properly belong
to them as time of recreation, in the service of the Vestry.
It is only a matter of simple justice to give this recognition of
services without which the routine work of the office could not
have been efficiently performed. In view of the enlarged and
additional powers conferred on your Vestry by the operation in
January next of the Public Health Act, 1891, it will be necessary
for your Vestry to consider the question of enlarging your sanitary
staff. This subject, however, will come before you in the
ordinary course and in the Reports of your Sanitary Committee.