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in the total number on our new register. Retail bakehouses
are also workshops within the meaning of the Act, but are
subject to more frequent inspection by reason of the importance
of absolute cleanliness in the preparation of food.
The total number of workshops now under periodical
inspection is 424.
It will be gathered from the Table that a great majority of
these workpeople are employed in the tailoring trade, and that
the largest number of workshops are situated in the West
Ward ; this part of the district being preferred probably on
account of its close proximity to the City shops for which most
of the work is done.
Where, in a Workshop, on the visit of the Factory Inspector,
any sanitary defect is observed, it is his duty to report the
matter to the Sanitary Authority of the district, and it is the
duty of that authority to inform the Factory Inspector of the
proceedings taken in consequence of such notice within one
month. These notices have been occasionally received and duly
reported as the law directs.
The principal duties of the Sanitary Authority in connection
with workshops are:—the enforcement of cleanliness and
adequate ventilation, the prevention of overcrowding, and the
provision of separate and sufficient w.c. accommodation,
where members of both sexes are employed. These duties
have been strictly carried out by your officers during the past
year, and in no case has it been found necessary to take legal
proceedings to enforce the Vestry's order. The occupier being
the person responsible for the cleanliness of his workshop no
difficulty is experienced in enforcing this part of the Act.
With regard to overcrowding, it was our practice, prior to
the passing of the Factory and Workshops Act, 1895, whenever
a new workshop was discovered, to at once measure the workshop
and supply the occupier with a form, showing how many
persons it should accommodate, allowing a minimum of 250
cubic feet of air space for each person. By the Act of 1895,