Sentence:  Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village <WSD>bailiff</WSD>, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An overseer: a supervisor of tenant farmers, serfs, or slaves, usually as part of his role as steward ("see above").