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with the vast improvements that have taken place, of course
there is a large portion of the district still in an unsatisfactory
condition and so I am afraid it always will be, partly owing to
the age of the property and the natural decay, and partly owing
to the class of tenant occupying it.
Workshops.
The duty of inspecting workshops has been carried out
by your officers. The number now under our inspection is
242, the fact that they are periodically inspected has had a very
beneficial effect, one very rarely finds any overcrowding, and
for the most part they are kept in a cleanly condition.
Notices have been served and complied with, so that it has
not been found necessary to take legal proceedings, except in
one case, and that was for the erection of an additional W.C.
The duty of abating overcrowding in workshops ought really
to devolve on the Factory Inspectors as they have larger powers
granted to then by the Secretary of State than we possess. I
understand in a neighbouring parish this duty has been cast
on the Factory Inspector by the Sanitary Authority, who found
the difficulties so great as to render a prosecution almost impossible.
A large number of the domestic workshops have
been abolished during the year and a number of workshops
changed hands ; this to a large extent is due to the migratory
habits of the Hebrew occupiers of most workshops.
Reference was made by the Vestry to the Sanitary Committee
as to the advisability of appointing a Female Inspector so as to
visit workshops where women are employed. I considered the
matter and reported as follows:—In the whole district there are
only 30 workshops where females are alone employed numbering
158, and 212 workshops where men and women are
employed, the number of men being 161, females 594, so that
altogether there are 752 women employed in the Hamlet. I
should like to state that in all the workshops where men and
women are engaged, proper separate sanitary conveniences are
provided for each sex. Looking at the fact that such a small
number of women are employed in the whole district it is in my
opinion quite unnecessary to appoint a female inspector.