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29
Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health—1894.
Common Lodging-houses.
The accommodation afforded by the common lodging-houses of the parish (for a
list of which see page 23) is materially the same as in the preceding year. From
information courteously furnished by the Metropolitan Commissioner of Police, I
was enabled to publish the following figures for 1893:—Common lodging-houses, 39
in number, mostly situated in the Borough Road sub-district, registered to
accommodate 1,297 males and 316 females, in all 1,613 persons.
In November, 1894, an important change was effected with regard to the
regulation of common lodging-houses. On that date the control of the police over
the licensed places in question was transferred to the London County Council.
The last named body, therefore, has now full powers of making and enforcing
special regulations and bye-laws. The magnitude of this trust may be inferred from
the fact that at the end of 1891 the total number of registered common lodginghouses
under the control of the police was 863, with accommodation for 33,086
lodgers.
Sanitary Inspectors.
Up to the year 1894 the whole of the sanitary inspection of this poor and denselycrowded
district was carried on by two sanitary inspectors.
It is clear that the supervision of such a parish, containing as it does 60,000
inhabitants, could not be properly performed by so small a staff. Moreover, the
development of sanitary knowledge has of late years added many new laws to the
Statute Book, and has multiplied the administrative duties of public health
authorities.
A glance through the vast mass of details included within the provisions of the
Public Health Act will show how multifarious are the matters to be dealt with under
present conditions. It is not surprising, then, that all over the country there has
been a constant demand for an increase in the number of sanitary inspectors. Early
in 1894 your Vestry, in "my opinion most wisely, determined to double the number of
sanitary inspectors. This proceeding, by drawing from the Exchequer contribution
account, has resulted in an actual decrease of £57 10s. in salaries during the year
1894. That is to say, the two inspectors have been increased to four, with a saving
of money out of pocket.
In the rearrangement of staff the chief place has been granted to your old and
faithful officer, Mr. Edwards. That honourable position he has earned by a loyal
discharge of responsible duties now extending over thirty years. During the
time of my connection with your Vestry I can testify to the capable and thorough
way in which he has performed his work, which has often been of a delicate and
highly technical nature. It may perhaps sound somewhat like a truism to remark
that the practical value of any law depends on the machinery that can be used for its
administration. This principle, however, appears to be often lost sight of by those
who oppose the appointment of adequate staffs of inspectors. The Medical Officer of
Health is responsible to the Vestry for the sanitary state of his parish. From the
nature of things it is impossible that he can be personally acquainted wtih the enormous
mass of details connected with his official work. He can only be kept in touch
with the particular sanitary wants and needs of his district by means of his subordinate
inspectors. Hence, it follows, that to discharge his duties in a thorough manner
he must possess a sufficient staff of skilled and trustworthy men.