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36
another, and inasmuch as they only represent death-rates
calculated from a portion of the total deaths, must not be
compared with those of the whole of the parish which are of
course calculated upon all the deaths.
I am desirous of calling the attention of the Vestry to certain
small areas in the parish which are exercising an
injurious effect upon the health of those resident within them.
The recent demolitions which have taken place in our own
parish as well as in neighbouring parts of the Metropolis
have made me feel that up to the present it has been advisable
not to displace, by further demolition, more of the inhabitants
of the poorest class of houses in our parish, and I have, therefore,
until now recommended the Vestry to actively put in
force the Sanitary Acts for the improvement of these houses
instead of reporting any of them under the Artizans and
Labourers' Dwellings Acts.
But there are in certain localities houses so built and
arranged that they must inevitably within a short period be
differently dealt with. The Sanitary Committee have from
time to time visited these unhealthy areas, and are conversant
with the condition of the property. Proceedings have been
taken under the Sanitary and Metropolis Local Management
Acts for improving them as far as possible, but these Acts
do not give the Vestry the power to compel under all circumstances
the maintenance of dwelling houses in a habitable
condition.
Poplar and Compton Place in Gray's Inn Road district
especially call for notice.
The houses are for the most part placed back to back, so
that proper ventilation is practically an impossibility. From
the absence of back windows, the opportunity for light to
enter is limited, while from the proximity of the two rows of
houses in Poplar Place, between which there is only an
interval of about twelve feet, this defect is increased.
The water closets, which until recently have been without
any supply of water, are mostly situated in a dark corner
behind the stairs, while the only means of external ventilation
of many of them is through a very small shaft carried
upwards.
The opportunity for air to circulate round these houses is
limited by the fact that almost on all sides the courts end in
a cul de sac, and their only entrances are through archways
situated in Hunter Street and Compton Street.
It is a matter of surprise that, in spite of the difficulties of
tracing out all the deaths during 1881, which belong to the