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128
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
the Heart, three from diseases of the Respiratory Organs, two
from Nephritis, and 19 from all other causes. 19 of these deaths
occurred in Private Nursing Homes, and four in the River
Thames.
Industrial Employment of Women.
In May, 1907, a circular letter was received from the Home
Office stating that the Secretary of State had under consideration
the report of the Physical Deterioration Committee in regard to
the question of further regulation of industrial employment of
women before and after childbirth, but that before any decision
could be arrived at as to imposing further restrictions than
already exist he was of opinion that it would be necessary for
enquiries to be made over a sufficiently wide area and for a sufficient
period of time to enable, if possible, trustworthy conclusions
to be reached.
The whole subject was fully discussed at a Conference which
was held at the Home Office on the 6th November, and it was
then decided that the inquiry should be conducted on the lines
suggested in the Home Office circular, although it was pointed
out that much of the information could not at present be obtained.
It was also suggested that the inquiry should commence in
1907, and I have been able to obtain some information on the
matters in question from the reports of the female Sanitary
Inspectors.
With the exception of laundries and the Incandescent Mantle
Works, there are few places in this Borough where women are
industrially employed, and the following Table shows in statistical
form the results of the enquiries made during the year in the
places inspected.