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had to a large extent been removed by subsequent cases, and arrangements
were being made, as far as the staff would permit, to inspect the
tenement houses, when the Town Clerk advised that under the Bye-laws
at present in operation the lime washing of these places could only be
enforced during the months of April and May every year, and, further,
that a house let in lodgings or occupied by members of more than one
family was, by virtue of Bye-law 2, exempt from the operation of the Byelaws
until the present landlord had been required to make a return in
pursuance of Bye-law 5; the result being that a very large number of
houses on the register were exempted owing to a change of "landlord"
having taken place, consequently no work has been accomplished under
the provisions of the Bye-laws beyond requiring the landlord in every
case where there had been a change to make the return required, so that
a proper inspection could be proceeded with in April and May of
next year.
This exemption clause in the Bye-laws is highly unsatisfactory, as
the landlords of many tenement houses are constantly changing, and it
is interesting to note that the Public Health Committee of the London
Count}' Council have taken the opinion of Mr. C. A. Cripps, K.C., as to
"whether there is power under section 94 of the Public Health (London)
Act, 1891, to exempt any house from the operation of Bye-laws 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
Bye-laws for the registration of every such house in its district?"
Mr. Cripps gave the following opinion:—
"In my opinion, section 94 of the Act of 1891 is imperative, and
there is no power to exempt from the operation of the Bye-laws for the
registration of lodging houses any houses so occupied as to come within
the lodging house definition. A bye-law in the Bethnal Green form,
which enables the local authority to exempt any or all lodging houses
within their district, is not a compliance with the requirements of the
Act, and I am unable to agree with the view put forward by the Local
Government Board."
The Local Government Board's model by-laws for the guidance of
Sanitary Authorities framing Bye-laws, under section 94, contain an