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Medical Officer of Health is of opinion that the bylaws
would give him power to enter premises at night. On
the second point the general opinion seems to be, that
with the exception of those cases where a breach of a
bylaw is knowingly committed by a resident "landlord,"
a notice would have to be served, so that the benefit of
summary procedure supposed to be given by the bylaws
is almost non-existent.
In 1901, the London County Council became
extremely angry with the Bethnal Green Sanitary
Authority by reason of their alleged failure to enforce
these bylaws; indeed the Council went so far as to make
a complaint to the Local Government Board, under
Section 101 of the Public Health (London) Act of
1891. Fortunately for poor Bethnal Green the Board
did not agree with the contention of the Council that
that the Vestry had been in default, for the Bethnal
Green bylaws (No. 2) give the Sanitary Authority
discretion as to what houses should be required to be
registered. The Council after consulting Counsel
determined to raise the question of the validity of this
particular bylaw, and again wrote to the Local Government
Board upon the subject, but failed to get any help.
Counsel's opinion, taken at the instance of the London
County Council, is printed below, and the following
question was put to Mr. Cripps, K.C.:—
"Whether there is any power under Section 94 of the
Public Health (London) Act, 1891, to exempt any
houses from the operation of bylaws for the registration
of houses let in lodgings or occupied by members of
more than one family, or whether every local authority
is bound to make bylaws for the registration of every
such house in its district?"