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159
effect. But by some mischance the Board never sent their
approval to the Vestry; at any rate, the Vestry never
received their approval; and I regret to say that the
regulations have not yet been enforced. The excuse for their
non-enforcement has been the fact that the sanction of the
Local Government Board had not been received; yet I must
acknowledge that the main reason has been that the duties
of the Inspectors have from year to year grown so onerous
and absorbing, that I have not yet found the opportunity
for beginning the register again. About one and threequarter
years ago an additional Inspector was appointed by
the Vestry, thus raising the total number to five, exclusive
of the dust-superintendent, who is an Inspector of Nuisances,
and the two men engaged in the work of disinfection; and
it was my intention, with his appointment, to begin the work
again. But unfortunately for the realisation of my intention,
other work accrued, and more especially that in
relation to the drainage of new houses, and the enforcement
of reconstruction of drainage in houses already built but
faulty in that respect, and this, which has been growing ever
since, has rendered the carrying out of registration with
only our present staff a matter of impossibility.
I should like to add, that if such regulations are to be
enforced in the future, I think a uniform code of regulations
should be made for the whole of London, and that it should
not be left for different vestries to adopt different codes,
or to determine whether or not they shall adopt any code
at all ; and further, that the regulations, while not being
too stringent, and not fanciful or vexatious in their requirements,
should be easy to work, and should not need repeated
putting in force in respect of individual houses.