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15 [1898
rooms begin to be overcrowded has been placed at too low a point.
Perhaps, if the matter be considered for a moment, it will not appear so.
It must be recollected that the houses in which this overcrowding
exists are, for the most part, occupied by several families, who use a
common staircase, whose sanitary accommodation is identical, and who
draw their water from a common source, not being supplied with it
individually. These circumstances lead to uncleanly habits. The
staircases are neglected and therefore dirty, pails or other vessels are
often used in the rooms, and washing becomes a luxury, because a
premium is put on uncleanliness, in consequence of the enormous labour
involved in dragging water. upstairs. Would that the law compelled
a separate supply direct from the main on each flat in all such dwellings
! The buildings themselves, too, are not cared for as they should
be by the leaseholders, so that there are found dilapidations, such as
broken flooring boards, and broken walls (with receptacles for dirt and
filth), dirty ceilings, walls thick with layers of paper (often half.a.
dozen), windows that will not open, doors that will not close, yards
whose surfaces are but sodden filth, frequently mixed with the excreta of
fowls (which should never be tolerated near such dwellings), together
with many other defects, which tend to make them more or less
insanitary, and, therefore, not capable of affording those aids to health
which are found in newer and better dwellings, occupied by individual
families. These remarks are not of course intended to apply to all
tenemented properties, for there are many in a most creditable state,
but the fact is that a house which is let in lodgings or is occupied by
the members of more than one family is, ipso facto, not so healthy as
one not so occupied, even though other conditions be equal.
According to the table 4,057 tenements with one room, 7,670 with
two rooms, 1,752 with three rooms, and 331 with four rooms are
overcrowded; altogether 13,810 tenements out of 49,393. These
contain 15,150 overcrowded persons in tenements of one room, 40,184
in those of two rooms, 13,742 in those of three rooms, and 3,580 in
those of four room's, or, altogether, 72,656 people.
. Every gallon of water weighs 10 lbs., and as at least 5 gallons per head of family is
required daily for drinking, cooking and domestic purposes, it can be seen that great
labour is involved in bringing it upstairs.