WOMEN INSPECTORS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 768, 17 March 1910, Page 3

WOMEN INSPECTORS.

An,.interesting personality among women, says a London paper, is that of Miss M. H. Mason, the doyenne of all the " higher salaried women • officials /. in the' Civil Service. In 1885 she was ap- , pointed Inspector of Boarding-out, and ; was/for many years''the only woman inspector. connected : with the Poor law. She has. been senior inspector since 1893, j and is now retiring. : She has been vicepresident- of a dozen philanthropic societies, Voluntary Supervisor of the. Board-lng-out of . Poor Law children in her hve county*of i\ T otts,aiid equally active in 'various other . directions, all involving specialised knowledge and much time.' Aiid in the meantime her ; publications, apparently; undertaken! 'as a' pastime,' range from ■ traditional , nursery rhymes and country songs to. psychical' research, botany,. horticulture,- poor law, of course, ?< n ? ,? few n l ' llol branches' 1 grouped as iiv 'I, '? h . e is a B o 'd medallist of. the Paris Exhibition, and if all does ; not denote the energy of the. Englishwoman, sometimes denied by. the American, what could? It is, by the way, interesting to note that' Miss Mason was entirely , educatedri'afrrrhbmeio .there is, perhaps, too much aptitude to think that university qualifications have .it all their 'own-way in a woman's career. "As-a matter of fact, the .right person can do without them. .. Miss Mason was practically • the first woman inspector appointed by a Govern-' ment department, says another journal, i our. or five years after her appointment two women were appointed factory inspectors under the Home Office, and then the Board of Trade appointed Miss Uara, Collet for . important statistical and other work, which she carries out at -Labour Department in connection with women's employment. Later .the tfoard of Education realised that women inspectors were indispensable in schools' where, girls, and infants were being educated, and still more recently the Pnblio Irustee has availed himself of the services of one or more women in ,an official capacity. Within the last few weeks three women inspectors, all .of whom have hail first-rate training.in London hospitals and much . experience in nursing the poor, have been appointed to work under Miss Stansfeld, assistant general inspector in the metropolitan district, and their duties will include the inspection of the maternity wards, -nurseries, and nursing arrangements in Poor Law institutions, lney will also assist in inspecting Poor Law schools and the work of boardingout committees. It is evident that they will not lack, for work, aud it is reassuring to know that a much-needed beginning will I>e made with the inspection of the nursing arrangements in workhouses.

At" the present time' there are about sixty women inspectors and investigators m the different Departments of the Government. Miss Mason may well feel that her own admirably performed work has been a'good, precedent,-and has hastened the admission of women ■to posts which they had ©very claim to occupy.