MUNICIPAL HYGIENE 653 



been practically trained by the veterinary profession in the 

 lair and abattoir. 



All important and responsible positions as meat in- 

 spectors should be filled by veterinary surgeons, and 

 only the minor positions or assistant inspectorships should 

 be held by the subordinates they have trained. 



It is interesting to note that the Royal Commission were 

 careful to avoid committing themselves, as to who should 

 be the authority to grant qualifications for meat inspectors. 

 They left it to the Local Government Board or Board of 

 Agriculture to prescribe the authority, and the Local 

 Government Board appears to have nominated themselves. 

 In a circular letter to local authorities they draw their 

 attention to the qualifications of a meat inspector as laid 

 down by the Eoyal Commission, and suggest that no 

 inspector of nuisances be appointed to that office who has 

 not the meat inspector's qualifications. 



At the present time two sanitary bodies are endeavour- 

 ing to remove the reproach from this country, the birth- 

 place of sanitary science, by instituting some instruction in 

 meat inspection and examination of inspectors. 



This, however, will not suffice, neither in the interests of 

 economy nor efficiency is it right to combine meat inspec- 

 tion with drains and effiuvia ; those who advocate this 

 course have failed to realize this work is that of an expert, 

 and that efficient meat inspection in any town or city, leaves 

 no time for dealing with defective drains or nuisances. 



The Tenth International Congress of Hygiene adopted a 

 resolution that meat inspection could only be efficiently 

 carried out by veterinary surgeons ; with that opinion none 

 will disagree who know the real facts of the case, the re- 

 sponsibilities involved, and the technical knowledge required. 



The Eoyal Commission recommended that in every 

 district where a public slaughter-house exists, every 

 slaughtered carcase brought into the district should be in- 

 spected, unless there is evidence of it having been inspected 

 and passed in the public abattoir of another authority. 



The object of this recommendation was to insure the 



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