TOWN SANITATION. 701 
Clare. 
Clare is some 80 miles northward of Adelaide, and about 20 
miles westward of the northern main line of railway. It is the 
centre of an agricultural and pastoral district, and contains 1100 
inhabitants. It is regarded as the handsomest township in the 
colony. The site is favourable, and the houses are, for the most 
part, well-built stone structures, surrounded by gardens. The 
soil is clayey, mixed with stones. Good natural drainage exists, 
except for the main street. The water supply is obtained from 
shallow wells, which, from the contiguity of numerous cesspits, 
run great risk of contamination. Till recently, these cesspits 
were mere holes in the ground. Within the last two years the 
Central Board of Health has had to issue an order upon the local 
board, requiring the immediate construction of all cesspits in 
accordance with the provisions of the Health Act. Scavenging 
is only partially attended to. Dry refuse is deposited outside 
the boundary, and excreta upon an adjacent farm. No slaughtering 
is permitted. An interesting convenience in the shape of a bath, 
some 80 feet by 25 feet, exists for the public. The sanitary work 
is in the hands of an inspector, who has a hundred and one other 
duties besides. 
The following facts indicate the extent to which the sanitary 
schoolmaster has been abroad in some of these townships since 
the passing of the Health Act of 1873. The Central Board of 
Health report that, in 1888, a resident of Clare made a formal 
complaint that the local board had failed to carry out their 
sanitary duties, inasmuch as—1, nightsoil was allowed to be 
carried through the street in the daytime; 2, that the so-called 
earth-closets were defective; 3, that scavenging was limited to 
the main street; and 4, that the removal of nightsoil was made 
unnecessarily difficult and expensive. The chief inspector of the 
Central Board confirmed these charges, and added that since his 
previous visit no steps had been taken to rectify the condition of 
the cesspits and protect the wells from contamination. In reply 
to the Central Board, the local board forwarded the local inspec- 
tor’s denial of the complaint, and his views on the requirements 
of the situation. The Central Board issued a peremptory order 
requiring immediate compliance with the Health Act, not only in 
respect of the complaints made, but also in respect to the construc- 
tion of cesspits. The local board immediately carried out the 
order, and promised to continue its efforts to secure a good 
sanitary condition of the town. 
In connection with the natural history of the sanitary state of 
the foregoing towns, a word or two is needful on the existence of 
infectious diseases during the year ending, March, 1889. The 
following table shows the fatal cases of enteric fever and diptheria, 
the usual residences of the deceased being the towns named :— 
