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14
routine. Especially is this the case at the present time, when, for
example, the cost of laundry is high and the amount of soap available
for domestic purposes low. The kitchen unit of , for example,
the new temporary dwellings, forms what in the relatively near past
must have been only a vision to most householders. It is to be
hoped that in the future they will become a prominent feature of all
new houses and with them should be included such aids as a washing
machine, which enables the mother of a family to obtain at any
rate some relaxation from the never ending round of her household
duties. Work in the home commences earlier and finishes later
than most other employment and there is the more need to make it
congenial.
To aid the improvement of maternal health in this way should
surely be interpreted not as providing a luxury for the individual,
but as a substantial contribution to improving the general health of
this vital section of our population.
Housing, as it relates to rural districts, should receive equal
consideration with that of the urban areas, although it is regrettable
and to some extent at least an inevitable fact that in the very nature
of things rural houses may not always approach the standard of
good dwellings in an urban area.
In this District there is a considerable rural area, which, I hope,
will form the subject of a housing enquiry by us with a view to determining
the actual number of houses involved, the condition of
these houses, the number of their inhabitants, and the extent to
which, in fact, they are made use of by rural workers. It would not
be profitable at this stage to anticipate the results of this enquiry,
and shortage of staff, apart from other considerations, is likely to
delay its completion.
The Housing Committee have paid considerable attention to the
advisability of housing, for example, midwives, who provide an
essential service under the County Council. This Committee is
being kept fully in touch with the position.
Temporary Dwellings.
Force of circumstances has somewhat accentuated this problem.
It is not merely a matter of caravans arriving in a rural
area, stopping for a very short period and then moving on—and even
this position has its evident drawbacks—but of the very practical
danger that people will tend to establish what are practically permanent
dwellings in unsatisfactory surroundings, if not always to
the nuisance of, at least very often to, the inconvience of their
neighbours. Admittedly the present housing position has contributed
to this state of affairs, but from the point of view of the public