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36
The main advantages in bringing certain houses under these
bye-laws are (1st), that a systematic inspection is greatly facilitated,
and (2nd), we can proceed directly for penalties for nuisances which
are suffered to exist in contravention of these bye-laws, without
going through the more lengthy and troublesome routine of procedure
under the Nuisance Sections of the 1891 Act. The main
provisions of the bye-laws are directed against dirtiness of premises
and overcrowding, and in respect of these two nuisances there are
to my knowledge many houses in the parish which could with
advantage be brought under their operation.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the bye-laws are unpopular.
Apart from the act of registration the very information required prior
even to registration is often regarded as an unwarrantable and inquisitorial
inquiry into personal and private matters; but then there
is no branch of public health work affecting personal interests which
does not meet with some degree of opposition. In this case, however,
the opposition may properly weigh with one to the extent of advising
a limit which shall exclude all those who, by reason of the rent they
are able to pay, may be assumed to have the knowledge, training,
and ability to enable them to live under wholesome conditions. I
think for this reason that the limits adopted by the Parish of Westminster
(8s. per week for unfurnished and l1s. for furnished
accommodation) must bring under the operation of the bye-laws a
large number of houses which need not be registered, and this entails
a considerable amount of unnecessary periodical inspection.
The number of houses which should be brought under the
operation of our bye-laws should be strictly limited by the retention
of a low limit of rental which excludes from registration; but, seeing
that our original limit was one that made the bye-laws a dead letter,
application was made during the past year to the Local Government
Board for permission to raise the limit for unfurnished accommodation
from 2/6 to 4/- per week, and that for furnished accommodation from
4/- to 6/-.
These limits for exemption which are among the lowest adopted
by Metropolitan Sanitary Authorities, were duly confirmed by