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our city population must not only live but rear their children. The
huge depressing block-dwellings now erected in some of our largest
towns, or the dreary monotonous rows of garden less houses are, I fear,
the only solution, if with the provision of improved and cheapened
means of transit to the suburbs, people are too short sighted to avail
themselves of these. In Stoke Newington there are many families
who occupy but two rooms, and the overcrowding which results not
only vitiates the air and leads to diseases and weakly development of
children, but also leads to immorality and vice, because of the almost
necessary disregard of decency. Those in humble circumstances
cannot afford to pay more for rent than one-sixth of the income
earned. The class, therefore, which stands in most need of help is
the class which does noc earn more than 20 to 25 shillings per week
on an average, and which, therefore, wants suitable accommodation at
from 3s. 6d. to 4s. per week. It is in the interest of the whole of the
community that these people should be housed sanitarily; but both
private and municipal building enterprise are heavily handicapped by
the increasing cost of land, material and labour.
FOOD AND DRUGS.
Under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, 156 samples of food and
drugs were taken and analysed. The results are shown in Table G.
13 of the samples were not satisfactory, and, therefore, the percentage
of non-genuine samples amounted to about 8.3 per cent., a
figure which is nearly double that of the preceding year, when it was
only 4.5 per cent. The figure for the whole country was 8.5 percent.
during the year 1904.
11.8 per cent, of the milk samples were unsatisfactory, as against
9.8 per cent. during the preceding year. 13.3 per cent. of the samples
of milk taken on Sundays were adulterated. There were two convictions
obtained for selling margarine contrary to the provisions of
the Act.