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8
merit Act. There arc, however, several things which tend to counteract the
benefits arising from those measures. One is that just alluded to, the absencc of
proper sewers into which house-drains can discharge their contents. Besides
places where there are no sewers, there are others where the sewers are badly
constructed, so that the effluvia arising from them into the streets and dwellings
are very noxious. The ventilation of sewers is very unsatisfactory, it now
takes place either into public roads or into private dwellings. Another obstacle
to improvement is the destruction of house'property, and the consequent scarcity
of accommodation and increased rent of lodgings for the poor. It is impossible,
at present, entirely to prevent overcrowding. The habits of the people
again are in some cases so bad, that sanitary improvements are rendered
nugatory ; these will only be improved gradually by the progress of education,
religious and secular. Those amongst the poor who would like to be cleanly,
and bring up their families respectably, have great difficulty in doing so. from
the difficulty of finding, at any moderate price, rooms suited for a family. The
majority of the poor with families are obliged to occupy only one, or at most
two rooms, in houses occupied by several other families, houses constructed for
but one family, having but one water supply, one closet, one coal-cellar, and
no proper wash-house. The erection of model lodging houses, such as those
in the Old Pancras Road, now called Pancras Square, and others newly erected
by the Improved Industrial Dwellings Company in the Pancras Road and
King's Cross Road, near King's Cross, are steps in the right direction. The
rents of such buildings are, unfortunately, too high for many, and the poor
often entertain a prejudice against them, owing to the restrictions which it is
found necessary to observe in order to maintain their respectability. The
Metropolitan Buildings in Pancras Square now pay remarkably well, the
mortality in them is much lower than in other places occupied by a similar
class of inhabitants. I believe that much good may be accomplished by
benevolent men of property buying existing houses, slightly improving their
arrangements as regards water supply, privy accommodation, &c., and by the
employment of respectable overseers to collect the rents and maintain the
property from dilapidations. Capital thus expended might be very usefully
applied, and it would yield a moderate per centage of profit.
The resolution of the Vestry to establish Baths and Washhouses is one on
which the Parish is to be congratulated. These establishments cannot fail to
improve the habits of the people by encouraging the practice of cleanliness ;
they will also tend to benefit their health. Public washhouses are an immense
boon in London to all respectable mothers of families amongst the poor.
"Without them it is almost impossible for them to wash their linen, and at the
same time keep their dwelling-room fit for themselves, their husbands, and
children to live in; in cases of illness this must be especially true. A very
natural consequence is that the men are driven away from home to the beer
shop, spending there money which ought to be spent on food or clothing for
the family, or invested in a Savings Bank or Provident Society, to provide for
time of illness or want of work. The improvidence of the poor is most
lamentable; it is a matter of some doubt whether our system of Poor Law
relief, and the tendency to multiply charities without discrimination, do not
tend to perpetuate the evil. Philanthropy in the present day should be directed
towards helping the people to help themselves, and teaching them to exercise
prudence in regard to pecuniary and domestic matters. The opening of Post
Office Savings Banks and the Government Annuity scheme, are measures of
which the poor should be urged to avail themselves.