la 
TOWN SANITATION. 697 
given satisfaction. According to the provisions of the Health 
Act, all cesspits must be water-tight, but the law is perfunctorily 
enforced by the local board. In numerous cases the pits are 
glaringly defective, being visibly influenced by the tides. In this 
leaky condition they thoroughly saturate the surrounding soil, 
The cost of emptying the pits seems to be the chief obstacle to an 
efficient administration of the law, and the local board does not 
appear to attach sufficient importance to this matter to induce 
them to establish an organised system for the complete and fre- 
quent removal of excreta. The contents of these cesspits are 
cleared away at intervals much as the residents choose, although 
by regulation it should be done at stated intervals. In several 
parts of the town the pepper-tree is again a friend of the public 
health, preventing many from reaping the harvest of their in- 
difference and ignorance. 
It may be said with regard to the inspection of food that it is 
only nominal so far as the local board are concerned. In the case 
of imported meat or other food it is different. This has to pass 
an inspection by the Customs officers, a service of great moment 
not merely to Port Adelaide, but to the whole colony. 
Port Adelaide has no public abattoirs ; small cattle are allowed 
to be slaughtered inside the limits of the town. Slaughtering- 
places and butchers’ premises are subject to inspection. It must, 
however, be admitted that not a few of them are left, particularly 
in the summer months, to become sources of annoyance to the 
neighbourhood. 
The regulation of trades and trade premises seems to be con- 
ducted on very general principles. Bakehouses are seldom looked 
at; noxious trades are occasionally inspected, and where a glaring 
instance is found of workmen being employed in ill-ventilated or 
otherwise unhealthy buildings interference may take place. 
No provision is made under the Health Acts for the early or 
compulsory notification of infectious diseases, except smallpox, 
cholera, plague, yellow fever, and leprosy. The speedy discovery 
of infectious cases is therefore very difficult. When such cases 
do become known to the local board, steps are promptly taken to 
disinfect the premises and remove any known or suspected cause. 
Isolation, except in the case of smallpox, cannot be enforced, as 
there is no legal power and no accommodation to receive patients. 
No doubt, in the event of any serious epidemic arising, temporary 
premises would speedily be made available. 
The ordinary practice of interment is followed. There are two 
cemeteries, one almost disused, inside the Corporation boundary, 
and another on the outskirts. The latter has a dry clay soil. 
The water level is reached at a depth of 10 to 12 feet.: 
The general work of inspection is carried out by a medical 
health officer and two inspectors. The latter have too many 
duties to perform to be able to give the requisite attention to 
