It is illegal for anyone to touch the surface of either roadway or footpath for any purpose whatever[209] without the consent of the urban authority (see 38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, sec. 149), and especially to touch or interfere with the main sewers. All such work could be done better and cheaper, both for the ratepayers and the owners of property, if carried out by the trained staff of the local authority; nothing would be gained by scamping the work, and one of the worst stumbling blocks in the interests of sanitation would be removed by this simple and effective measure. Gas and water companies invariably refuse to allow anyone to interfere with their mains or services, but execute the work with their own men; how much more important is it that house drains and sewers should be equally protected. If a gas or water main or house service leaks through defective work it is quickly detected and remedied; not so with a drain or sewer, the deadly gases may be oozing through defective joints or the foul liquid may be poisoning the soil under the adjacent dwelling houses, and many victims may suffer before the cause is ascertained, and even then laborious legal machinery has to be put in force before it can be rectified. The only objections that can be raised to the plan I so strongly advocate are, first, the interference with the trade connections and interests of builders and others; and secondly, the responsibility incurred by the local authority to execute thoroughly sound and good work, and the difficulty they might afterwards experience if it was necessary to find fault with their own work. The first objection should really have no weight when lives are at stake, and the responsibility incurred by the second objection ought not to be shirked. Until some alteration is made in the present law the town surveyor must be as vigilant as he can, and endeavour to induce the public to look more closely themselves into such all-important points. (2.) The next duty of the town surveyor is to inspect all drains of new buildings that are being constructed in his district.