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service. Great responsibilities rest on them, much is required of them,
and they are expected to act with independence and impartiality.
Sanitary Science has advanced with great strides during the last two
decades, so that to-day the Inspector of twenty years ago, with
occasional exceptions, is out of date. The Inspector of these days
must not only be able to advise as to Sanitary work, and as to the best
sanitary appliances to be used, but he must know something of the
physical laws and agencies which are at work to the detriment of the
human race, to combat which these appliances were invented. It is
folly to think because a man is a good mechanic, whether he be a
plumber, a mason or a carpenter, that he must, therefore, be a good
Sanitary Inspector. It seems to me that education comes first, and everything
else afterwards; and that the educated men can only be procured
by offering sufficient salaries, by raising the dignity of the office, and
by making their positions secure. I write thus because I know from
long experience that many persons in the public boards all over the
country, and Islington is no exception, are of opinion that the work of
these men can be done by anyone. This is absolutely erroneous, and I
trust that before long it will have disappeared. And I also sincerely hope
that the Vestry of this great Parish will be one of the first to recognise
these facts, and offer to their future Inspectors such inducements as
will attract the best men, and when they have attracted them, incite
them to remain.
By these remarks I do not mean to cast the slightest reflection on
the Sanitary Staff of the Parish, for as a body they are undoubtedly the
most capable men in such positions it has been my lot to meet with;
and, indeed, some of them will compare favourably with any men in
similar positions.
It is not satisfactory to me, however, to find that these men are
constantly applying for more lucrative positions, because I do not wish
to lose them. Good men are not so easily obtained, and men with
experience are not to be had at the salary offered; Islington is a good
training school, and the Inspectors who have done a few years' service
here are certain to obtain better paid appointments. To train men in
special work and then to lose them is a great misfortune, for it must not
be forgotten that good Sanitary Inspectors are not made in less than
three or four years.