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AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE (GRADING AND MARKING) ACT, 1928.
MERCHANDISE MARKS ACT, 1926.
FERTILISERS AND FEEDING STUFFS ACT, 1926.
When the above-mentioned Acts came into force, it was hoped that the work arising
under them would not entail the appointment of additional Officers in the City, and the
responsibilities were accordingly divided between the members of the existing staff. Experience,
however, showed that the careful and systematic following-up of the duties imposed
by these Acts took up too much of the time of these Officers, and a special Officer, Mr. E. A.
Johnson, has, therefore, been appointed. This Officer did not commence his duties until
1931, and the effects of his work are not therefore referred to in this Report.
Each of the three Acts has been dealt with during the year so far as I was able to spare
the staff. The Fertilisers and Feeding Stuffs Act required most attention. As a result of
correspondence, received from time to time from outside Authorities, and of correspondence
which passed between the Corporation and parties interested, visits have been made to
certain firms who were not complying with the requirements of this Act. In practically
every case, non-compliance was due to ignorance of the somewhat intricate clauses of the
Act, and such visits were a means of not only indicating to the offenders the particular
infringement, but also of advising on and securing prompt rectification and abatement of
the offence.
The Quarterly returns required under this latter Act by the Ministry of Agriculture
and Fisheries have been made.
GENERAL SANITARY WORK.
Artizans' Dwellings, Stoney Lane, Houndsditch.—These Buildings, erected by the late
Commissioners of Sewers and opened in January, 1885, stand upon ground formerly the
site of several courts and alleys in the Ward of Portsoken.
There are five "blocks" of Dwellings, severally named King's, Queen's, Prince's, North,
and South, designed for occupation by persons of the artizan class, some of the ground
floors being let as shops. The Buildings contain 501 rooms, arranged in 241 tenements, and
are occupied by 709 persons, compared with 738 in 1929. 83 per cent. are adults and 17 per
cent. children (under 14 years).
In addition to these Artizans' Dwellings, the Corporation, in connection with a slum
clearance scheme, erected:—
(1) In December, 1927, a block of buildings, Bearsted House, in Hutchison Street,
which contains 88 rooms, arranged in 24 tenements, and housing at the end of 1930 103
persons (91 per cent. adults and 9 per cent. children).
(2) In January, 1929, a similar block of buildings, Dutton House, in New Street,
containing 52 rooms, arranged in 16 tenements, and housing at the end of 1930 68 persons
(51 per cent. adults and 49 per cent. children).
There are 7 shops, each with a large and well lighted basement, in Bearsted House,
and 8 shops, similarly provided with a basement, in Dutton House.
The total population of these dwellings is 880.
The number of births was 2, viz.: 1 male and 1 female. The birth-rate was 2.3 per
1,000, which is 4.0 per 1,000 below the average for the previous five years. The birth-rate
in these Dwellings reached a maximum of 46.9 per 1,000 in 1896, and has since been falling
irregularly, but almost progressively.
The death rate for 1930 was 11.4 per 1,000 per annum.
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