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I-16

It may appear that the proportion of notices to inspections is high, but it
should be noticed that the inspection took place in many cases before the annual
cleansing, when the property is in a worse condition than at any other time. As an
instance of how soon signs of wear show themselves, I find that some of the staircases
which had been cleaned 111 April were now (at the beginning of June) showing considerable
traces of use; and I do not see how this is to be avoided, except by matchboarding
the walls about 3 feet up. viz., to such a height as will prevent the
smaller children from rubbing against the walls as they go up and down.
Speaking generally Hollington Street, Sultan Street, and Bowyer (formerly
Beckett) Street are the best in this area, in past times poetically but inaccurately
described as the "Black Spot of Camberwell."
In my opinion they have never been so bad, especially in the two former streets,
as it has been the fashion to paint them for the past fifteen years, and now that
some of the older houses in Bowyer Street have been removed the appearance of this
street is considerably improved; and from a sanitary point of view the widening of
the road is most beneficial. Whether so much good will accrue from the substitution
of two-family dwellings for the single cottages, lam not so confident; but most of
the old cottages, particularly at the west end, were beyond repair, and of those that
remain few are beyond reproach.
There are other badly designed blocks in Crown Street between Nos. 21 and 31 and
41 to 49, where, from the design of the houses, the interior ventilation and lighting
must of necessity be defective. It will be remembered that mention was made with