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of fact, the addition to the work of the department brought about by these regulations
is such as to be quite beyond the power of the existing sanitary staff to adequately
cope with.
It is to be noted as a point of importance in connection with the work of the
department that during the past two years the cases of notifiable infectious disease
certified under the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, have been much below the
average. This has, to some extent, lightened the work but it cannot be relied
upon to continue. The number of cases might easily be doubled without greatly
exceeding the average for the past ten years and an increase must be expected.
When this happens the effects of the additions above-mentioned must be accentuated.
From what has been stated it will, I think, be evident that since the staff of
inspectors was increased, some 16 years ago, the work to be undertaken has been
greatly added to. Regular inspections have become necessary in respect to milk
purveyors premises, factories, workshops, outworkers premises, and premises where
food is prepared and sold ; under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts there has been a
large increase ; more attention has had to be given to verminous homes, and lastly
there has been a great addition owing to the compulsory notification of consumption.
I have no desire to magnify what has been added to the work and am willing to admit
that to a certain extent it has been possible to cope with it by systemization. The
great bulk of it, however, has been added work in reality, and a very considerable
portion of the time of the inspectors which was formerly available for the regular
sanitary inspection of dwelling houses has had to be given up to it.
II.—STATISTICAL INFORMATION.
The Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, including the spaces covered by water,
has an area of 658 acres. The population which was 124,533 in 1891, fell to 118,637
in 1901, and at the census of 1911 it was 111,463, showing a further decrease amounting
to 6 per cent. The figures for the last census are provisional. The average
number of persons resident on each acre of the Borough which was 189 in 1891,
fell to 180 in 1901, and has since fallen to 170 in 1911. The number of inhabited
houses which was 13,848 in 1891 and 12,743 in 1901 may be estimated at about
11,800, the figure for the last census being not yet available. The residential
population is mainly working class, and there is a large and probably increasing
proportion of very poor people amongst them. During the past 20 years numerous
dwelling houses have been demolished to make way for factories, workshops, warehouses
and other business premises. A steady change has been in progress as to
the character of the house property in the Borough. In many ways there have been
marked improvements, but the great majority of the houses remain such as to
need more or less constant attention on the part of the sanitary authority. To
some extent there has been change in the character of the premises to be inspected,
but the amount of sanitary supervision to be cxercised by the sanitary staff has been