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11
of keeping the air pure and the bodies fit for Jurors to
view, when inquests have to be held upon them.
We have been most anxious to prevent the Mortuarybeing
a nuisance in hot weather to the inhabitants of
Hall Park. I have been better enabled to do this
by the Resolution of the Sanitary and Public Health
Committee authorizing Inspector Clifford to employ
whatever extra assistance he might require, to avoid
complaint. This can only be done by visiting more
than once daily; by the coffining of bodies immediately
after post mortems; by the thorough cleansing and
disinfecting and deodorizing; and by the prompt removal
of bodies for burial. Immediate action must
often be taken on the spot to avoid the risk of serious
nuisance to adjoining premises. Bodies found drowned,
or otherwise in a decomposed state, waiting for identification,
require the most vigilant care and attention,
and almost a staff trained for the work.
A point is now reached that we have been a long
time struggling for, and with its many imperfections,
can only be surpassed by the erection of a New Public
Mortuary in a more isolated situation in St. Mary's
Church-yard, and attached to it, or close at hand, a
resident keeper, who shall be the responsible custodian.
It is gratifying to state that there is a growing
disposition on the part of the poor, who live in single
rooms, as well as other classes, to remove the corpse of
a relative ; and the power now given me by the
Sanitary Committee to order an undertaker, independently
of the parish contractor, to remove a
body that has died from a dangerous contagious
malady, has worked remarkably well of late in