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94
FACTORY AND WORKSHOP ACTS, 1878 to 1895.
Duties of the Sanitary Authority with Respect
to Workshops.—The duties devolving upon the sanitary
authority under the Factory Acts were set out in considerable
detail in the annual report for 1896 (pp. 97-103 inclusive),
with a view to show how serious are the responsibilities which
the legislature has imposed on sanitary authorities throughout
the kingdom. An effort to cope with these responsibilities
was made by your Vestry, on my recommendation, in October,
1893, by the appointment of two ladies as inspectors of workshops,
workplaces, and laundries, where women are employed.
These ladies, Miss Deane and Miss Squire, have been appointed,
by successive Secretaries of State, to the
position of factory inspector under the Home Office. Miss
Deane's successor, Miss Duncan, who ceased to hold office in
July, 1895, has been appointed to the office of factory
inspector by the Government of New South Wales. The
appointment held by her in this parish has not been filled.
Miss Squire's successor, Miss de Chaumont, does her best to
carry out the work of inspection and supervision for the
entire parish.
With respect to the workshops, &c., where men only are
employed, practically no steps have been taken to give effect
to the law. These establishments should be taken in hand,
but cannot with the present limited staff of sanitary
inspectors.
It has been asked, whether your Vestry, by appointing
special officers to inspect workshops, laundries, &c., were not
interfering with duties legally attaching to the office of factory
inspector? The answer to the question is distinctly negative.
There is nothing conflicting in the duties of factory inspectors
and of inspectors appointed by the sanitary authority: the
duties of the respective offices are reciprocal. It is the duty