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37
It appeared to the Secretary of State that a simultaneous and systematic
inquiry into the subject, on uniform lines, by the Medical Officers of Health of a
number of representative industrial centres would yield the best results.
Co-operation in the enquiry was approved by the Council. This enquiry
consisted of detailed investigation respecting every birth and still birth, numbering
in all 460 cases, occurring in the poorest streets in the Borough in the year
1908. Details were obtained respecting the status and ages of the mothers,
previous confinements, reasons for industrial employment, weekly earnings before
and after confinement of mother and family, number of family, number of rooms
and rent charged. Each child was visited at least twice, once soon after birth and
the second time six months after birth.
Of the 460 cases, 14 were still births. Of the 446 children born alive,
82 had removed from the Borough or could not be traced, and of the remaining
364, 55 are known to have died during the first year, that is a death-rate of at
least 151 per 1,000.
Of the 39 children of mothers who were employed at factories or workshops,
7 died in the first year (excluding still births), that is a death-rate of 179'5
per 1,000.
Of the 102 children of mothers who were otherwise employed, and principally
only part time, 17 died, that is a death-rate of 166.7 per 1,000.
Of the 286 children of mothers who were not industrially employed 31 died,
that is a death-rate of 108.4 per 1,000.
PLACES WHERE FOOD IS PREPARED FOR SALE.
Under this head are included kitchens of hotels, restaurants and eating-houses
of all sorts, slaughter-houses, tripe, offal and other meat shops, fried fish, eel and
other fish shops, premises where ice cream is made, and other places where food is
prepared for sale, excluding bakehouses which are given on previous page.
The number of these places on the register at the end of 1909 was 382;
1,936 inspections were made, and 80 notices were served during the year for
sanitary defects found.
In addition to the above inspections of places where food is prepared for sale,
there were also 752 inspections of market streets, each of which includes a number
of stalls at which meat, fish, fruit and vegetables are sold. These streets are also
regularly inspected on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings.
SLAUGHTER-HOUSE.
There is now only one slaughter-house in the Borough, viz., No. 29, Red Lion
Street, which, in addition to my inspections, was inspected on 5 occasions during
the year. Only sheep are killed, and there was but little slaughtering during the
year.