CHANGING ENGLAND.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 4002, 26 September 1929, Page 1

CHANGING ENGLAND.

Recent industrial development in the iSoutli of England is producing grave evils, according to Sir Edgar Bonham Carter. Tift report for

1928 by the chief inspector of factories describes the remarkable growth of industry in the 'South of England during the last few years. It states that in the southern division of the Factory Department the number of registered factories has increased by over 3000 in the last eight years, and that some of these factories are of great size. “It may be a good or a bad thing that the South of England is being industrialised-,” he remarked, “but what is clearly bad is that most of the new factories have been located without any regard to the interests j of existing or future residents in the neighbourhood, or of adjoining landowners, and that in the location of many of them the conveni-

ence and health of their own workers, and even -the eventual interests of the industry itself, have been ignored.” It is 'estimated, so states the report, that between Acton and ! Slough there ai-e now 150,000 worI kers, compared with only 00,000 five years ago. And the report proceeds to describe the serious ‘difficulties in housing the workers ,which have consequently arisen. On llie other hand, at Beeontree, where the London County Council j has provided admirable houses for a population larger than that of Plymouth, there are practically no factories. One has only to motor I through the outskirts of London to s’ce that the evils which charae- j lerised the industrialisation of I most Midland 'towns during the last century are now being- repeated I in a modified form in the South of] England. These evils are preven- I tilde and should be prevented.