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out-workers, that is, all persons who take work from their employers
home to complete. This Order will entail much more
work than at first sight appears and will vary very much in
different parishes. The method which I have adopted to find out
these out-workers is by the Inspectors serving notices on all
likely persons who give out-work in our district; these employers
are bound to fill special Forms with the names and addresses of
all their out-workers and post the same in a conspicuous place in
their workshop. In our own district we have already found a
large number of cases where the employer lives in our district and
the employee in another sanitary district, no provision is made
in the Order for this condition of things but 1 take it and am
working on the assumption that it is our duty to bring to the
notice of any other Vestry the names and addresses of and employees
who may live in their district but who get their work
from an employer in our district. We have also found that a
large number of persons are scattered all over the Hamlet who
are out-workers in our district, their homes will have to be
frequently visited as per the Order. To what extent this frequent
visiting of these places will interfere with our ordinary routine
work it is difficult as yet to estimate, I am afraid it will need
much time and attention, as a large number of our population
are employed as out-workers by City and West End firms, and
until we get the return from the various districts, we cannot tell
how much extra time this duty will take. The beneficial
results that will accrue from the carrying out of this Order cannot
be over-estimated ; seeing that it will be the means of our
being made aware not only of the sanitary condition of these
houses where articles of wearing apparel are being manufactured,
but also in preventing the spread of infectious disease, as I have
no doubt very much infection is spread in this way. It seems
to me had the Order gone a little farther and made it compulsory
for employers of out-workers to notify the addresses of their
employees to the various sanitary authorities, this would have
greatly facilitated matters ; and the health of the public in
general would be greatly benefited by such compulsory notification
as in the case of infectious diseases occurring at these
houses we should be able to notify to employers their existence
and so prevent work being carried on until such houses were
free from infection.
HOUSING OF THE WORKING CLASSES ACT.
The proceedings that have been taken under the above Act
during the past year (with the exception of what has been before
the Vestry in respcct to obstructive buildings) have not been
reported to the Vestry, as the Sanitary Committee were
appointed under the 81st Section of the above Act, to carry out
the provisions of the said Act. It therefore becomes my duty
to bring before you the details of the representations that I