Page:The present and general condition of sanitary science.djvu/9

5 the work of the sanitary engineer, nothing is yet commonly expected or sought for. I had, however, early anticipated that the reduction of the annual death-rate would be accompanied by an advance of the life-rate, and I have recently obtained from the Registrar-General examples of what that advance may be.

I find that at Rugby the life-rate has been extended to all living there, of every class, by eight years, or from thirty-three to forty-one years. At Hastings the duration of life has been advanced for males an average of five years and five months, but for females of eight years and one month. At Leek it has been extended by ten years; at Croydon and Salisbury and other places, the extension has been from six to seven years, females, as a rule, obtaining, by our science, the greatest share, that is to say, some eight years more of life-rate, more of painless life, more of health and strength and beauty. These extensions of the life-rates, as yet little known and regarded, belong, however, to all classes, both to the well-to-do and to the lowest. Of the wage classes, whose life-rate is largely the lowest, the extension will be found to be the greatest. To them the greatest gain developed is by the house alone, the "model dwelling," the work of the sanitary architect, giving ten years more of life and working ability, a result cheap to pay for by extra rents, and which would be still further improvable by the removal of surrounding deteriorating conditions, especially bad schools and ill-conditioned places of work.

As against extant evils, there is yet to be provided the due exercise of the functions of Medical Officers of Health and the aid of the Sanitary Inspectors in the inspection of workshops and schools, and chiefly the half-time schools. As Commissioners of Inquiry into the labour of young persons in factories in 1833, it was the recommendation of myself and my colleagues that the Factory Inspector should be essentially a Sanitary Inspector. Under our first General Board of Health we made an effort to extend these functions in our regulation of the duties of the local officer of health to a weekly inspection conducted at the places of work. On the detection of the premonitory symptoms of disease—chiefly the eruptive diseases—the health officer would,