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POPULATION
The Registrar-General has estimated that there has been an increase
in the population of 7,171 for the present year over that of 1919, due
chiefly to the return of soldiers to civilian life.
Although the Borough of Southwark is usually overcrowded, and it
must, necessarily be so on account of.its proximity to the City, there has
still been a further increase in that respect during the \ear 1920, owing
to the difficulty of obtaining any kind of house accommodation.
The year has been one of great distress, especially amongst artisans
and casual workers. The restriction of trade, from whatever cause that
has arisen, has crippled enterprise. Many of the large works in the
district, owing to high wages, increased taxation, and the lessened
demand for their products, have been obliged to curtail their operations.
This has had a great effect upon the inhabitants of Southwark, this
Borough being the home of the artisan and casual worker.
After all the great wars of former times, it is chronicled that unrest
existed for many years. We cannot, therefore, expect this country after
the Great War to be any exception to former periods. and to recover its
pre-war commercial prosperity within a few years. It will take a
generation before this can occur.
There are various large housing schemes before the Council necessitating
the clearance of upwards of 20 acres in the Borough. These
have been held up for a time partly on account of the inability to provide
accommodation for the dislodged population, and partly on accouut of
the high price and the difficulty of obtaining building materials. We
have no vacant land in Southwark for building "purposes, and therefore
any housing scheme must necessarily involve the dehousing of portions