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173
45,000, of houses by 4000, of rateable value by £1,120,000:
therefore "the proposed increase" in the staff would be "something
less than pro rata, compared with the increased work
consequent upon the development of the Parish." I also pointed
out that "legislation, directly and indirectly, had materially added
to the duties of the Inspectors; that the Lodging-house clauses of
the Sanitary Acts had been put into operation, under which already
some 1800 houses had been registered, whilst, to give effect to the
instructions of your Vestry, a still larger number awaited attention;
and that the Act for the Compulsory Notification of Infectious
Disease had entailed much and very important additional work,
resulting from the largely increased number of cases of infectious
disease reported, with consequent visits to infected houses for the
removal of patients and for disinfection." The Inspectors, I
added, had been appointed to act under the Food and Drugs
Adulteration Acts, and were required, when necessary, to make
enquiries regarding disorderly-houses; whilst "inspections of
mews, slaughter-houses, cowsheds, bakehouses and offensive
trades, systematically carried out, took up much time. When to
these duties and others, which it would be tedious to specify, we
add those which require the attendance of the Inspectors at the
office, it will be obvious that but a small portion of the day can
be given to the important duty of house inspection," an average
number of twenty houses a day only, being inspected by
the four Inspectors combined. I further pointed out that the
several inspectors had to perform "not only all of the routine
duties imposed by the Acts" (set out in my Report to the Salaries
Committee in June, 1887); duties considerably increased by the
reports of nuisances with which I am favoured by the Sanitary Aid
Committee, and other volunteers, and likely to be still further
increased shortly, by legislation in respect of the Housing of the
Working Classes; but each inspector, moreover, had to "attend
daily to complaints that come in, the result being that much time
was frittered away in going from place to place," a fact which suggested
the desirability, with an increased staff, of "a reorganisation
of the work of the department."