ABSTRACT
Between the time the Alkali Act (1863) received parliamentary approval in July, and came into effect as from 1 January 1864, the Board of Trade, as the responsible government department, created the Alkali Inspectorate. The legislation had no precedents as far as operating procedures were concerned; although other inspectors were working for government departments, such as the factory inspectors, mining inspectors and railway inspectors, the nature of the alkali inspectors’ work was very different and their powers were very much greater. Robert Angus Smith, as the first Inspector of the Alkali Inspectorate. had a blank slate upon which to devise the operating procedures.
