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135
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
sex of the occupants of each room used for sleeping; and the
tenants must at all times afford the officer of the Sanitary Authority
free access to inspect the interior of any room, and be subject
to a dozen other By-laws regulating their houses as if they were
but little better than the vagrant inmates of a common lodging
house.
"It is for their own good," said Mr. Young, representing the
Sanitary Authority, but the same might be said of the inspection
and internal regulation of dwellings of greater value.
It is not unlikely that many flats and even highly rented
houses in London would be found on inspection to be overcrowded
and insanitary, but they will be safe from the Sanitary
inquisition because although the Public Health Act, 1891, section
94, does not make any distinction of rental, the By-laws do so,
as by By-laws a "lodging house" shall be exempt from the
operation of these By-laws (a) where the rent or charge payable
by each lodger— is at the rate of eight shillings a week and
upwards.
Formerly a limitation of that kind must, I think, have invalidated
such By-laws, but the more liberal construction now placed
on Municipal legislation prevents me from treating By-laws as
being ultra vires.
I fine the defendant £1 and £4:4:0 costs for offending
against this By-law.
Customs and Inland Revenue Act.
During the year 14 certificates were granted under the above
Act. These certificates referred to 359 separate houses.
The following Table shows in concise form the number of
milk premises, cowsheds, etc. on the register, the number of
inspections, and the number of cases of legal proceedings during
the year, as well as other information which it has been thought