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180
a common lodging house, where, indeed, they would be neither
welcome, nor, in their infective condition, desirable guests.
The difficulty is got over sometimes by giving the people permission
to open the door of their room late at night, the result
being that the infected walls and furniture are exposed to the
disinfecting gas for only a few hours instead of the 24 hours
usually deemed requisite. The Inspector who, until recently,
had charge of the disinfecting arrangements, reported that in
many cases the doors had been burst open when he left the
premises, with the result that practically no disinfection was
effected. It is, I admit, a difficult question; but the best
solution would doubtless be found in compliance with the
provisions of the law in the interests of public health and
humanity alike.
PUBLIC BATHS AND WASHHOUSES.
The Baths and Washhouses at the junction of Lancasterroad
and Silchester-road, Notting-hill, opened in April, 1888,
were well supported during the year: the washers in the twelvemonths
ended 25th March, 1897, were 59,960, an increase of
4,410 over the preceding official year; the bathers 108,895,
a decrease of 1,196. But it must be admitted that for the
great majority of parishioners the site is not sufficiently central
for baths, and obviously it is too remote for use for washing
purposes. The same objection would apply, more or less, to
any single site in the parish. Much good might be effected by
the provision of several buildings on a modest scale in convenient
localities, to which the poor could resort for the purpose
of washing clothing, &c. The statistics contained in the successive
annual reports of the Commissioners for the Baths and
Washhouses show a constantly increasing use to be made of the
washhouses, and are of a nature to encourage the hope that it
may be found practicable to provide, at no distant date, for the
wants of the poor in the Central and Southern districts of the
parish.