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of Parliament for the sanitary improvements of their
districts. It is not for me to speak of other districts, but
such is not my experience in St. Giles.
Your Board has at all times given these matters the
most careful consideration, and has readily supported its
officers in the performance of their duties. The annual
reports show that the various Acts of Parliament have
been duly enforced and carried out for the sanitary improvement
of the District. From 1875 to 1883, the
sanitary inspectors made 95,295 visits and inspections.
12,573 orders were issued by direction of the Board for
sanitary amendments of houses and premises; 7,770
houses were cleansed, repaired, and whitewashed; 194
houses were dealt with under the Artizans' and Labourers'
Dwellings Act, 1868 (Torrens)—of these 150 were demolished,
and 44 improved by structural alterations.
Two Lakge Aheas (old fever dens), viz., the Great
Wild Street, Drury Lane, and the Little Coram Street,
Blooinsbury, have been dealt with under the Artizans' and
Labourers' Dwellings Act, 1875 (Cross). Another large
area, Shelton Street, Drury Lane, consisting of 108 houses,
is now under consideration by the Metropolitan Board of
Works; and 14 houses in the Colonnade, in the parish of
St. George, Bloomsbury, will shortly be reported on by
your Surveyor under Torrens' Act.
Writers and caricaturists have always been lavish in
their condemnation of St. Giles. At the present time we
are far from being perfect; but let us hope that the cant
phrase, "Black as St. Giles," has disappeared, and that
future ciitics will speak more kindly of the District.
Sir Charles Dilke, Bart., the President of the Local
Government Board, after inspecting the various districts,