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regard to the fitness of the rooms for human habitation, to
the house accommodation in the district and to the sanitary
condition of the inhabitants, and to other circumstances, but
any requisite which was required be/ore the passing of this Act
shall not be so dispensed with or modified."
The question was referred to a "View Committee," who
inspected the premises, and finding that they did not comply
with the conditions for underground rooms which were required
by Section 103 of the Metropolis Management Act,
1855, recommended the Vestry to inform the owner that his
application for a dispensation could not be entertained.
The owner then feeling aggrieved by the dispensation not
being allowed, appealed to the Local Government Board, who
have power under the Act to refuse the dispensation or allow
it wholly or partly as if they were the Sanitary Authority.
The Local Government Board having considered the
owner's petition decided that, having regard to Section 96,
Sub-sections 3 and 5 of the Public Health Act, the Board have
no power to dispense with the requisite that the area be not
less than three feet in width in every part, and accordingly
refused the appeal.
The Law and Parliamentary Committee of the Vestry, in
whose hands, legal proceedings having been commenced the
matter now was, then thought fit to decide that no further
action be taken by the Vestry, and accordingly instructed the
Solicitor to the Vestry to withdraw the summons against the
owner when the case came on again for hearing. Why the
Sanitary Authority should thus stultify themselves is hard to
understand. A direct contravention of the Public Health
Act is brought under their notice, the matter is gone into by a
specially appointed committee who viewed the premises and
were unanimous in their opinion that, even if the Act did not
explicitly state that no dispensation could be granted if the
requirements enacted as essential 40 years ago were not
complied with, having regard to the want of fitness of the
rooms for human habitation, they were unable to recommend
that a dispensation should be granted ; the Local Government
Board, on being appealed to, refuse the petition,