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Royal Commmission on the Poor Law.
57. By request of Lord George Hamilton, Chairman of the
Royal Commission on the Poor Law, I prepared a statement as to
the medical assistance of the poor in the Borough of Woolwich.
The statement deals with the existing agencies for medically
assisting the poor, insufficiency of medical provision, and proposed
remedies with the object of bringing into co-ordination
preventive medicine and medical relief. It will be printed with
the report of the Royal Commission.
Child-Birth and Industrial Employment.
58. In May last His Majesty's Home Secretary invited my cooperation
in obtaining information as to the connection between
infant mortality and industrial employment, and you agreed that
all the necessary facilities should be afforded in the matter. A
Conference of all the Medical Officers of Health who are prepared
to assist in the enquiry was held on the 6th November last at the
Home Office to discuss the lines on which it should be conducted.
The principal end the enquiry has in view is to determine
whether or not industrial employment of mothers has a prejudicial
effect on the vitality of their children, especially as to increasing
mortality of children under one year of age. It was decided to
classify mothers under four classes. (1) Those working in
Factories and Workshops ; (2) Homeworkers ; (3) Charwomen,
and other industries; (4) unoccupied. It was also determined to
obtain statistics as to illegitimate births, and the mode of feeding
of infants in the first six months of their age. It will be necessary
to keep the children under observation from their birth for twelve
months, or until their death, if taking place within twelve months.
The enquiry is to commence from the 1st January, 1908, and to
deal with all the children born in a certain district during the
year. Consequently the enquiry will last until the end of 1909,
and the results will not be available until some time in 1910. I