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117
These Inspectors should have a fixed habitation, and they should not be allowed
to continue in their present unsettled condition, which is alike prejudicial to good
work, and fruitful of wasted time.
Then there is the accommodation afforded to Mr. Leggatt and myself.
There is one small office for the two of us, whereas each requires a separate
private room.
There is no official of the Vestry who, from day to day, has to decide on more
important matters than myself, for these refer, for a great part, to questions of life
and death, which demand immediate attention. I am visited daily by the public, and
the members of the Medical Profession; I have to deal with plans, to consider reports
of Inspectors, to advise on them, to receive and advise the public, the members of the
Vestry, and to hold communication with the other head officials of the Vestry, and
with officials of the London County Council, and other Local Authorities. I am
continually engaged in making reports, annual, monthly, and others of a varied
character, many of which contain intricate calculations, and all of which are of considerable
value.
I can only perform my duties amidst constant interruptions, owing to the fact
that the Superintendent holds his interviews with the Inspectors in this office; that he
is constantly in and out of this office; that the clerks are continually the same; and
that the public, who come on the most trivial matters, with which Mr. Leggatt can,
and does deal, are shown into this room for an interview, much to the delay of my
work, simply because there is no other place to receive them.
If, at any time, a person is desirous of speaking to me alone, then the Superintendent
is forced to take his letters, papers, and books into the outer office, which up
till 11 a.m. is usually very crowded, and there he is compelled to perform his work
wherever he can best find room. At times, notably in the forenoon, this is impossible,
and then his work must remain in abeyance, while the Inspectors are
delayed in starting for their districts, until such time as my visitor leaves.
I wish to say emphatically that such a state of affairs should not be allowed to
continue. It is unfair to the Clerks, the Inspectors, to the Superintendent, and
particularly to myself. I desire to say most respectfully that I must positively
decline to be held responsible for the work of my department if I do not receive the
necessary accommodation in which the officials can execute it.
I believe you have an able, and certainly, a willing staff of Officials, who are all
anxious to do their work in an efficient manner, but they require the means to
enable them to perform it in the way in which they are desirous, and which
doubtless, you expect.
The large office is open to the public, who, owing to the absence of a counter or
barrier, are free to move about it as they please. And they make full use of this
liberty, for as soon as any one entering the office sees the Inspecor or Clerk to whom,
he desires to speak, he advances to him to relate his business, with the result that
sometimes it is almost impossible to move in the office.