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86
Overcrowding.—The number of cases dealt with under this
heading was 22. This is a slight increase on the previous year
(17). Overcrowding may be considered amongst the most difficult
and serious forms of nuisance that an Inspector has to deal
with, as it is invariably accompanied with misery, actuated by
poverty. Misfortune frequently forces poor people to a condition
that they are compelled to reduce the number of rooms which
they occupy, and crowd their families into insufficient accommodation.
It often happens that when a Notice is served to abate
overcrowding, the people vacate the premises to comply with the
Notice, but one knows that the premises to which they go will
soon be as bad, and perhaps worse, than those vacated.
It is a form of nuisance that must ever exist among workmen
whose income is precarious and who have large families
dependent upon them. Cheap rent is the best remedy for this
evil.
Dirty Preinises.—The cleansing of internal walls and ceilings
has been carried out in 437 houses, as compared with 338 for the
year 1906. This work includes stripping, cleansing, and making
good dilapidations upon the premises, such as broken floors,
walls, and ceilings.
Paving of Yards and Forecourts.—Closely associated with the
sanitary condition of the interior of the dwelling house and
drainage system is the paving of the ground immediately abutting
the front and rear of the premises. It is an important factor
in preventing dampness, which often means preventing illness, if
the ground immediately abutting the houses is not paved, or the
paving is permitted to get broken and dilapidated, the soil becomes
polluted, and especially is this the case where animals
such as fowls, rabbits, and even goats, are allowed to roam about
the yard, depositing filth and creating a nuisance. Where the
yards are properly paved it is an inducement to the tenants to
wash and cleanse the yards. One cannot but regret to observe,
in visiting the backs of premises, that there is not the same
enthusiasm displayed by the present tenants for the cultivation of
flowers that existed ten years back, and that fowl-houses and