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and if the arbitrator is satisfied by such evidence, then the compensation—
"(a) Shall in the first case, so far as it is based on rental, be based on the rental which would
have been obtainable if the house was occupied for legal purposes, and only by the number
of persons whom the dwelling house was, under all the circumstances of the case, fitted to
accommodate, without such overcrowding as is dangerous or injurious to the health of the
inmates; and
"(b) Shall in the second place be the amount estimated as the value of the dwelling house if it
had been put into a sanitary condition, or into reasonably good repair, after deducting the
estimated expense of putting it into such condition of repair ; and
"(c) Shall in the third place be the value of the land, and of the materials of the buildings
thereon."
The above quotations are from section 41 (Settlement of Compensation), in Part II., dealing
with "Scheme for Reconstruction" (section 39), in relation to "Obstructive Buildings" (section
38); and the principles laid down should be made applicable in respect to the purchase, under
Part III., of houses "in a state of defective sanitation," or "not in reasonably good repair,"
or the rental value of which is enhanced "by reason of the same being used for illegal purposes,
or being so overcrowded as to be dangerous or injurious to the health of the inmates." If it
should be thought that this reference to the provisions of Part II. of the Act is out of place
in connection with the consideration of the provisions of Part III., I would observe that in
metropolitan boroughs, practically covered with buildings, sites for lodging-houses within the
district may have to be obtained by purchasing, for pulling down, houses which come within
the above-mentioned conditions of defective sanitation, disrepair, disreputable use, or overcrowding;
such houses, therefore, could be obtained at a reasonable rate under Part II., whereas,
should they be purchased under and for the purposes of Part III., the full "value" would have
to be paid for them plus ten per cent. for compulsory sale.
In connection with the consideration of the subject information was obtained with regard
to the action of the local authorities of Liverpool, West Ham, Hornsey, &c., for providing selfcontained
houses, or lodgings, for the working classes. A feature of such buildings as have been
erected is the smallness of the space, superficial and cubic, of the rooms. The privacy they
secure is, no doubt, appreciated by the classes by whom the accommodation is utilised; and in so
far, on however a limited scale, one object of the Acts has been attained. But probably overcrowding,
on any reasonable standard of air-space per person, exists, or is likely to arise—and to a
greater extent, probably, than usually happens when, as in so many houses in this borough,
a single room is occupied by an entire family; in 1901, as we have seen (page 6), there were
5,695 such tenements (more than a sixth of total tenements) occupied by 11,334 persons.
Action of the London County Council.—In the early part of the year the County Council
adopted a scheme for the acquisition of 225 acres of land at Tottenham, at £400 per acre, on
which they propose to build some 6,000 cottages, to accommodate 42,500 persons of the working
classes at an estimated cost of between 1½ and 2 millions. The carrying out of the scheme
will, no doubt, be to the advantage of the large population which will occupy the cottages, which
will be rendered all the more attractive by the provision of private gardens, public pleasure
grounds, and other means of making life pleasant; and the Council may be trusted to see that the
undertaking does not entail any ultimate loss. But to what extent competition by the Council
will hinder the provision of house accommodation for the poorer classes by private builders—
by "spoiling the market"—remains to be seen. In any case, however, it must be obvious that
provision of houses of the sort contemplated in the scheme will not touch the question of the
proper housing of the lower strata of the working classes, the common labourer and his like;
for the rents of the cottages will be altogether above the means of any but the better paid
artisans, &c. One might have expected that an attempt would have been made in the first
instance to help the poorest classes—those least able to help themselves; but the difficulties in
the way of doing this, it must be admitted, are great, and possibly well nigh insuperable.
Action of the Borough Councils.—In April a conference of the Borough Councils (to
which medical officers of health were not invited) was held at the Town Hall, Islington, having
been convened by the Mayor of that borough. The following resolutions were adopted—
"(1) That inasmuch as the adoption of Part III. of the 'Housing of the Working Classes Act,
1890,' by the Metropolitan Borough Councils, will lead to dual control, and possibly to overlapping
expenditure, it is desirable that some arrangement should be come to with the
London County Council as to the respective spheres of action of the County Council on the
one hand and the Borough Councils on the other.
"(2) That the Mayor of Islington be requested to communicate with the London County Council
with a view to effect being given to the preceding resolution, either by a meeting between
this Conference and the representatives of the County Council or otherwise.
"(3) That it is desirable that no Bill involving the displacement of the working classes in any
Metropolitan Borough should be passed through Parliament, until clauses are introduced providing
for the re-housing of those displaced, to the satisfaction of the Council of such
borough as well as of the central authority.