London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Finsbury 1903

Report on the public health of 1903

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258
Aliens and Sanitation.—Excluding the Italians, there are
not a sufficiently large number of aliens in the Borough to form any
useful opinion on this point. Every now and then we detect
marked uncleanliness and overcrowding amongst isolated foreigners.
But it cannot be said that this occurs so frequently as to make it
proportionately greater than amongst native English people.
Naturally, aliens do not understand English sanitary law until they
have been here some time. I may add that on many occasions
aliens suspected of infection have come to the Borough from the
Port of London, but in no case has infection spread.
The Royal Commission on Alien Immigration.—
The recommendations of this Commission were briefly as follows :—
1st. That the immigration of certain classes of aliens into
this country should be subjected to State control and regulation.
2nd. That a Department of Immigration should be
established, either in connection with the Board of Trade and
Local Government Board or independent.
3rd. That improved methods be employed to secure correct
statistical returns relating to alien immigration.
4th. That certain legislative power be obtained for the
purpose of carrying out the following suggestions, viz. —
(a) That the Immigration Department be empowered to
enforce regulations in respect to certain classes of immigrants.
(b) That they be provided with a sufficient staff of officers.
(c) That the officers be empowered to make enquiries as to the
character and condition of immigrants on their arrival, and
report " undesirables " to the Immigration Department.
(d) That the duty of the Immigration Department shall be to
determine what shall be done with "undesirables" arriving in
this country, (e) That any alien becoming an " undesirable "
within two years of his arrival, i.e., that is becoming a criminal,
a prostitute, a person living on the proceeds of prostitution, a
person of a notoriously bad character, or a person becoming a
charge upon public funds or without proper means of support,
may be ordered by a Court of Summary Jurisdiction to leave