STRATFORD.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 January 1916, Page 3

STRATFORD.

SANITATION, (From Our Own Correspondent). Stratford, Yesterday. The Borough Council can scarcely be commended on their action in not carrying out a house-to-house inspection of the borough. The secretary of the Hospital Board sent them a letter, as follows: "In view of the diphtheria epidemic, and in view of the unsatisfactory condition from a sanitary point of view of dwellings in the borough, as disclosed in reports made by .vr. c;ray, the Board's sanitary inspector, this Board urgently requests the Council to proceed with an inspection, such as lias been suggested, and discussed between the Mayor, the Board and inspector iliddleton."

The letter clearly points out the urgent need of inspection, and yet the Council were not called together for a fortnight after the Board's meeting, to consider the position, and then after discussing the matter for an hour, 'it was decided that after the asphalt footpaths have been attended to in Broadway, the borough engineer should inspect the business .portion of the town. Nothing was said about the residential portion of the town, and it looks as if the Council intend to leave it alone. The argument raised by some councillors that it would be a hardship to make residents go to the expense of putting their premises in a Military condition cannot hold water—the question of expense should not enter into a matter of the health of the people. One councillor in .particular held himself up as an authority on health matters, and went as far as to say that the sanitary methods of the town were being overdone, yet the Mayor, at the Hospital Board meeting, admitted thtat there was a lot of truth in the inspector's report, and £be town needed an house to house inspection.

Mr. Sullivan, the borough engineer, is admittedly a busy man at the present time, and cannot be spared to undertake the work of inspection, but the Council have a nuisance inspector in Mr. Barlow, and why was he not instructed to do the work?

Either Mr. Gray, the Board's inspector, is all wrong regarding the need of inspection, after personally seeing some of the residences, or the Council is right in the attitude it has taken up (without seeing for themselves how matters stand in the borough). It is hoped that for the sake of the town there will not be a further outbreak of epidemics, but should there be a recurrence the responsibility surely rests with the Council, owing to their laxity in taking the proper precautions to deal with same.