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power, that conditions which disturb the life of the community are
reduced to the absolute minimum. We have provided more than
our share of delightful parks, open spaces, playing fields, town planning
of the highest order and wide, pleasant streets. But although
these amenities are literally invaluable, they are still not enough.
We return once again to the stark menacing problem of housing.
There can be little doubt that conditions under which so many of
our burgesses have to live, even in a district such as Southgate, are
among the prime factors which lead to mental ill-health. When
one uses the expression "mental ill-health," one does not refer to
actual insanity but to that unfortunate state, that gloomy hinterland
into which so many people are plunged when the conditions under
which they live are sufficiently unpleasant as to render life unhappy,
frustrated and beset with innumerable problems. It is this, perhaps
more than anything else, which gives rise to family quarrels, "problem
families," delinquency and many other social ills too numerous
to mention. I have already said that the solution to these problems
will never be easy. None the less, the alarming increase in mental
ill-health, severe or even slight, the break-up in families, the work
of our divorce and Juvenile Courts and the fact that more and
more individuals are living under a greater and greater strain points
surely and inevitably to the need for this problem to be tackled as
a matter of first priority.
Quite recently, a valuable book by an American author was
published in this country. This book, entitled "The Stress of Life,"
sets out very clearly the factors which contribute to what I have
described as lack of positive health, factors which often lead to a
breakdown in health, sometimes with far-reaching consequences.
The author has described this as the "adaptation syndrome." In
simple terms, this means that conditions are being set up in families
and in individuals which exert a most profound influence on the
health and well-being of increasing numbers of the population.
The great value of this book lies in the fact, that possibly for the
first time an attempt is made to assess these factors at their proper
value, and to suggest ways in which the brake might be applied.
We have still a very long way to go before we find a solution to
what is one of the more serious problems facing us today. But a
solution must be found. These serious matters are neither solely
theoretical nor the vapourings of abstract sociology. I mention
them here because the Public Health Department has a most signicant
part to play. I feel confident that the Council will afford us
full support in the efforts which we are taking to try to bring this
problem under adequate control.
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