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147
obtained convictions. Total penalties and costs, £25 0s. 6d.
With regard to the dismissed cases it would be desirable that a
note should be added, as the circumstances were exceptional.
The object of the Local Government Board in this Bye-law is
clearly to lay down a definite time limit for cleansing. If this
were not so it is evident that the plea would be urged that such
a house had been cleansed at some anterior period during the
year, and therefore did not require it again. As drawn, the
Bye-law lays down a fixed point for cleansing, and so becomes
automatic, and does not require periodical inspection to determine
when it should be cleansed. In tenement houses of this character
it is desirable in the interests of the public health that cleansing
should be done annually, without periodical inspection, and at
a fixed period. The Local Government Board's model Bye-law
on this point lays down one week as a standard. Our own Byelaw
(No. 15) lays down any period within the month of April.
It was ratified by the Board at our express request as we considered
four weeks a more reasonable period within which the
cleansing should be done.
In reference to the particular cases dismissed, the first was
that of Mr. J. Maley. This gentleman stated in Court at
Worship Street that he was the owner of 200 houses, and that
he had 13 tenement houses in this Borough registered under
these Bye-laws. The learned Magistrate, Mr. Mead, took up
the attitude that to ask an owner to cleanse 13 houses in one
month was unreasonable, and to require all the registered houses
in the Borough to be cleansed in one month was also unreasonable.
On this assumption he held that this Bye-law was "bad,
invalid, and unreasonable," and he accordingly dismissed this case
and the three other cases which were down for hearing that day (May
28th). Mr. Mead had been further misinformed that there were
2,000 registered houses in Finsbury. In point of fact there were
1,020. After consultation with the Solicitor (Mr. Ricketts) we
deemed it desirable to wait over May 29th, to see what judgment
the learned Magistrate at the Clerkenwell Police Court (Mr.