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6
POPULATION.
For some years past in my Annual Report I have recorded the
changes that are taking place in the Borough by the desire of all persons
who in any way can afford it, to take their families to the suburbs. This
migration still continues, and has been active during the past year.
One can understand the immense difference between the life of a
family in a "flat" dwelling in the crowded portion of our Borough, and
that of a family in the suburbs where the house with a small garden is
separately occupied.
Our "block" dwellings are feeling acutely this change, and I am
sure that in the near future these buildings will become more and more
difficult to let.
Within the last year the leases of a large number of small houses
have fallen in, and the property has reverted to the freeholder. In such
cases it is extremely difficult for the owners to decide what is best to be
done ; whether to pull down the property and erect other dwelling houses,
to patch up the existing worn-out houses, or to erect other buildings on
the site. I am satisfied, however, that in the inner portion of the
Borough it is not to the interest of ground landlords to build small houses
as we appear even at the preseut time to have enough of them. The
salvation of the Borough is for it to become more and more, both in
buildings and business, like to the City. The proximity of much of our
Borough to the City, and the comparative cheapness of the land, should
induce property owners as far as possible to make it easy for the City to
extend in our direction. I think in the past few years the erection of
warehouses has proceeded very satisfactorily in the district, and with a
better means of communication across the river we may expect to see a
greater extension of such premises, which many of us think would be for
the benefit of the Borough. It would certainly remove the squalid areas
which have so befouled the ancient name of Southwark.
Much of the sanitary work of our Borough is " bludgeon " in character.
It consists largely in the cleansing of dirty and verminous premises. This
is a highly necessary work and a large quantity has been done during the
past year. Only those acquainted with such work can have any idea of
the verminous condition of many of the houses of the Borough, and the
unfortunate conditions under which the inhabitants live. One hears the
opinion expressed, even by persons engaged in the work, that the sanitary
staff is too large and could be much reduced. Such expressions of