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the people are now than in the early part of the present century,
and this may be attributed to higher wages, smaller families, and
general knowledge, especially that relating to health. I think on
the whole there has also been a great improvement in the cleanliness,
ventilation and general appearance of the homes.
There is one more point which strikes an observer, and that
is the greatly increased sobriety of the general population. There
is no question that drinking is much less prevalent than it was
twenty-seven years ago, and the appearance of a drunken man in
the streets, which was by no means uncommon in 1901, was
extremely rare in 1927. Here again education has probably
played the chief part, though no doubt high taxation of alcohol,
as well as the restriction of the hours of sale, has something to do
with this as well. No matter what the cause may be, this must
be looked upon as a great gain, and I am quite confident that the
general population will become much more sober in the future,
and that this will be brought about, not by oppressive legislation
but by increased education.
There have been many changes in the organization of the
Town Hall during this period, but none of them have been anything
like as pronounced as those in the Public Health Department.
Up to the beginning of 1901, the Department was in charge of a
part-time medical officer, and a whole-time Chief Inspector. For
many years the latter had complete administrative control of the
Public Health staff. Up to the year 1900 the area of the present
Borough was under the control of three municipal bodies, the
Bermondsey Vestry, the Rotherhithe Vestry, and the St. Olave's
Board of Works. The populations of the areas controlled were
roughly 82,000, 38,000 and 10,000 respectively. In Bermondsey
there was a Chief Inspector, three Assistant Inspectors and one
clerk. In Rotherhithe there was an Inspector, an Assistant
Inspector and one clerk, and in St. Olave's one Inspector. Each
of the three divisions also had a mortuary keeper, who acted as
disinfector.
On the amalgamation of the districts under the London
Government Act of 1899, the two vestries and Board of Works
were amalgamated into what is now known as the Borough of