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43
The London County Council has hitherto done more in the
direction of shifting the slum population than of re-housing it under
its Improvement Schemes. The Boundary Street Area originally
accommodated 5,719 persons, but only 11 of these found homes in the
too expensive buildings erected upon the old site. The disease was
therefore itensified, for neighbouring areas became still more overcrowded,
and this will continue to be the case so long as the rehousing
does not keep pace with displacement.
There must be in the metropolis at present some 500,000 persons
("the submerged tenth") who cannot afford to pay a sufficiently high
rent to secure healthy homes. The number of paupers in the
metropolis during last year was estimated at 125,000, and the common
lodging-houses provide for some 30,000; the balance remaining is a
formidable one. It is in the interest of the whole community that
these people should be housed sanitarily, but the process is so costly
that municipal enterprise is heavily handicapped. It must be
cheapened. The rookery sweater has no claim to receive handsome
compensation. If it were made uuprofitable to own insanitary and
degraded property, we should have less of it to menance the health of
every community.
SANITARY LEGISLATION, 1900.
With the exception of the Census Act the only Act passed in
1900 which bears strictly on Sanitary matters is an Amendment to
the Housing of the Working Class Act, 1890.
The Amended Act (63 and 64 Vict., c. 59) gives power to the
Borough to establish and acquire "Lodging Houses" for the working
classes, under Part iii. of the Act, outside of the District.
The expenses incurred under the Act are to be defrayed as part of
the ordinary expenses of the Council. Ample borrowing powers
under easy terms are provided.
Section 5 of the amended Act provides that the Local Authority
may lease any land acquired to a lessee under the condition that the
lessee will carry the Act out. The Local Authority "shall insert in