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23
Housing of the Working Classes Act.
The houses that I have placed under the influence of this Act
have been steadily getting fewer in number each year, the reason
being that owners of property do not allow their houses to get
into the same dilapidated condition they did formerly, and the
fact that their property is becoming more valuable may have
something to do with it. The houses that I have reported under
the Act were in such a dilapidated and insanitary condition that
considerable structural work was required to make them habitable,
and in all the cases reported the necessary work was
carried out without resorting to extreme measures.
Disinfection.
The disinfection of clothing after infectious disease is a question
in which all sanitary officers are interested, and no medical
officer would be doing his duty if he did not bring home to his
Vestry or district board the necessity for proper apparatus to
carry this out During the last few years I have on many occsions
pointed out to the Board the necessity for more modern
apparatus, and the Sanitary Committee and the Vestry have so
far felt the necessity as to pass a resolution that modern apparatus
should be purchased. I have publicly, on more than one
occasion, repudiated any responsibility for the present mode of
disinfection as I do not consider that it can be properly carried
out with the apparatus now in use. The matter of finance was,
of course, the primary difficulty. It was sought to borrow the
money—about £800—from the Local Government Board, but
the restrictions made by the Board were such as to necessitate
the purchase of a new site. The Committee have, however,
recommended that the old site should be utilized and the expense
borne directly by the rates; but, at present, this recommendation
has not been adopted.