OF ROBERT ANGUS SMITH. 97 



the aid of his sub-inspectors^ was to see carried out, by 

 constant supervision on the part of the sub-inspectors and 

 frequent periodical visits to various districts by himself. 

 That he was eminently successful in his attempts to secure 

 for the public the benefits which the legislature had in 

 view when the act was passed, and, on the other hand, in 

 conciliating by his prudence and tact those who were to 

 some extent restricted and interfered with by the pro- 

 visions of the Act, is universally conceded. It is quite 

 possible that in other hands the task which Dr. Smith was 

 called on to perform might not have been accomplished, 

 and the result might have been complete failure. To 

 continue what he began according to methods initiated 

 by him is a comparatively easy task. As chief inspector 

 under the Alkali Act Dr. Smith had each year to present a 

 report of the proceedings under the Act for the preceding 

 year. These reports, of which the last (presented in 1884) 

 was the twentieth of the series, contain much information 

 over and above what mere official summaries might be 

 expected to give, and they should be carefully studied by 

 all who are interested in hygiene in its relation to manu- 

 factures. 



In the year 1876 an act similar to the Alkali Act, 

 though of a less stringent character, was passed, styled 

 the " Elvers Pollution Prevention Act.^^ Under this Act 

 Dr. Smith was appointed to examine polluted waters, more 

 especially the state of effluent fluids from sewage-works, 

 and he presented two reports to the Local Government 

 Board as an inspector under the Act. To the results set 

 forth in the second of these reports, presented shortly 

 before his death. Dr. Smith attached the greatest import- 

 ance. It will be for others to judge of the value of these 

 results, but he himself considered that the discoveries 

 described in the report would open up a wide field of 



SER. III. VOL. X. H 



