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to several other important factors, such as (a) the occupation of
the room as a sleeping-room and as a living-room; (6) the surroundings
or situation of the house or room; (c) the work or employment
of the occupier at his home; and (d) the ventilation, light,
and sanitary circumstances generally. Bat these matters are not
frequently enough considered, and a ready general rule of allowing
from 250 to 400 is adopted; but these limits very often vary in
different districts. This statement is proved by the fact that in the
regulations of various Sanitary Authorities for the management and
control of common lodging-houses the limit of space varies considerably.
In the General Report of the Census, Dr. Ogle discusses the term
“overcrowding,” and, perhaps, it would be as well to adopt his definition
for the purposes of this portion of tbe report.
It is as follows: “It is plain the number of rooms and occupants
is not in itself an absolutely sure guide, because rooms differ largely
from each other in size. Still we may be tolerably certain that the
rooms in tenements with less than five rooms will not, in any but
exceptional cases, be of large size, and that ordinary tenements which
have more than two occupants per room, bed-rooms and sitting-rooms
included, may safely be considered as unduly overcrowded.”
Taking this, then, as the definition, it is found that, excluding all
one-roomed tenements with not more than two occupants, all tworoomed
tenements with not more than four occupants, all three-roomed
tenements with not more than six occupants, and all four-roomed
tenements with not more than eight occupants, there are left 12,949
tenements of less than five rooms, in each of which there are more than
two occupants per room.
These 12,949 tenements, which are overcrowded, are made up in
the following manner:-
One-roomed tenements 4,077 or 31.71 per cent.
Two-roomed „ 6,377 „ 38.15 „
Three-roomed „ 1,752 „ 14.84 „
Four-roomed „ 743 „ 9.27 „
One, two, three, and four12,949„26.21 „
roomed tenements