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41
tive W.C. accommodation mentioned below) either a letter was
written or a notice was served calling on the owner to abate the
nuisance complained of; as this notice was in each instance obeyed
no Police-court proceedings were necessary.
Complaint was made that at a workshop in Hackney Road, one
W.C. had to serve for five females and four males, and in addition,
for three persons in the household, twelve in all.
At another workshop in Mount Street only one W.C. was provided
for four men and two women.
Both complaints were investigated, verified, and reported to the
Committee, but they decided to take no action, as they were of
opinion that the accommodation provided was in both cases
sufficient.
Only one complaint as to overcrowding during overtime occupation
was received. This referred to a workshop in Green Street, where
four males and six females were employed in tailoring. The capacity
of the workroom was found to be 2,526 cubic feet. I visited the
premises, but did not happen to pitch upon an evening when overtime
was being worked. The matter was reported to the Committee;
they rather demurred at serving a notice as to a complaint which
had not been verified by one of their own officers ; eventually they
decided to do so; and I had some correspondence with Major
Vaughan, H.M. Inspector for the district, on the matter. It was
ultimately agreed that, in the event of a prosecution being necessary
for failure to comply with our notice, one of H.M. Inspectors should
attend at the Police Court to prove the overcrowding. In the last
issued report of the Chief Inspector of Factories, Major Vaughan
makes the following remarks upon this subject:—
Overcrowding, which is one of the most serious evils with
which we have to deal, presents itself in its ugliest form in
the workshops of the east of London, in which the sweated
clothing trades are carried on. The employers are for the
most part poor, profits are small, and competition keen;
whilst the workshops are very generally disused bed and
living rooms, with low ceilings and primitive ventilation.
In the busy season the temptation is very great to fill a