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habitation, or in which diseases indicating a generally low
condition of health amongst the population have been from
time to time prevalent, and such prevalence may reasonably
be attributed to sanitary defects which cannot be remedied
otherwise than by an improvement scheme for the rearrangement
and reconstruction of the streets and houses within the
area. The Acts are put in force by the Medical Officer of
Health for the Parish or District, and the Authority for
carrying the Acts into execution in the Metropolis is the
London County Council.
After inspecting such portions of the Parish as appeared
most likely to come within the scope of Cross's Acts, the
Sanitary Committee submitted two areas for special consideration.
These were the Walker's Court area, including
Down's Place, and the Marlborough Row area, including
portions of Carnaby Street and Ganton Street. Dr.
Edmunds, the Medical Officer of Health, Being absent on
leave at the time, his locum tenens, Dr. C. E. Dumbleton, was
appointed temporary Medical Officer of Health, and requested
to prepare a detailed report upon both areas. With regard
to Walker's Court he was requested to bear in mind the
value to the poorer class of residents of the street market in
the immediate neighbourhood, and the importance of retaining
and if practicable extending the same, in any scheme for
reconstructing the area.
A very comprehensive report was subsequently presented
by Dr. Dumbleton, from which it appeared that neither area
could be regarded as overcrowded, that in both the w.c.
accommodation was sufficient in proportion to the number of
inhabitants, and that both had exhibited an almost complete
absence of zymotic disease for some period.