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that, this constituted a nuisance under the Act, or that the vestry had power to enforce cleansing and
limewashing except under by-laws in the case of lodging-houses." The view taken in this case by the
magistrate was no doubt an extreme one, and as was pointed out at the time, in districts in which
such decisions are given, difficulties must arise in connection with maintaining cottage property, in
which each house is occupied by a single family, in a cleanly and wholesome condition. There is,
however, an almost unanimous consensus of opinion among medical officers of health to the effect that
the hands of the sanitary authority are materially strengthened by the use of by-laws in cases in which
they are applicable.
The by-laws, in addition to formulating requirements as to cleansing, define overcrowding, and
it might be anticipated that here too great advantage would result from their use. It is sometimes
stated that in dealing with overcrowding, inasmuch as a notice to abate is almost always complied with,
the necessity for by-laws relating to this subject is not apparent. It must not be forgotten, however,
that compliance with a notice means in some cases little more than that the person responsible for
overcrowding has learnt what answer it is necessary to give when inquiries are subsequently made
concerning the matter. By-laws serve a double purpose ; in the first instance they enable penalties
to be more easily obtained when overcrowding is found to exist; in the second they may provide
for inspections of houses let in lodgings to be made at other times than those specified for the
general powers of the Act, a provision necessary in view of the fact that there is much difficulty in
proving the existence of overcrowding. It is necessary here to emphasize the advantages of proceeding
for infringement of by-laws when overcrowding is found, because even at the present time
with the increased powers by-laws give already in the hands of sanitary authorities, it is still the
practice to proceed for abatement by notice rather than to apply directly for penalties.
It is not possible to estimate exactly the extent to which overcrowding, as defined in the by-laws,
exists in London. The returns of the 1891 census showed that 19*71 per cent, of the population were
living under conditions of " overcrowding." " Overcrowding," as defined by the Registrar-General, is
not, however, identical with the overcrowding which comes within the limits usually specified in by-laws,
and the former is probably on the whole a somewhat more comprehensive term than the latter. As an
indication however of the extent to which overcrowding as usually defined in by-laws is admitted to
exist by the inhabitants of houses in some parts of London, the result of inspections made by Dr.
Young and myself in six sanitary districts, two in the south, three in the east and one in the west of
London, may be quoted. We found, as the average result of a large number of inspections, that there
was at once forthcoming in about one house in every ten visited, clear evidence of overcrowding.
Where overcrowding is so plentiful it is manifest that there is abundant scope for the operation
of the by-law, and in the light of a result such as this the commonly expressed opinion that a
notice to abate overcrowding is always complied with, and that proceedings for penalty are
therefore unnecessary, seems to need justification. Presumably what happens in many cases is that the
persons living under conditions of overcrowding are merely transferred from one tenement to another,
while the amount of overcrowding in the district remains practically unaltered. In districts, however,
in which the sanitary authority shows that it is its intention to enforce by-laws, the fact that a
house is placed on the register comes to be accepted as an indication that overcrowding must no
longer be permitted. I was told that an owner of tenement property, after a short experience of the
working of by-laws, had expressed the opinion that "registering a house takes 25 per cent, off the rent."
In order to comply with the by-laws he knew it would be necessary to considerably reduce the number
of occupants of his tenements, and for this and other reasons he was anticipating, no doubt rightly,
a considerable diminution in the amount of his receipts.
Experience of the application of by-laws regulating houses let in lodgings is then, as regards
cleansing, entirely favourable ; as regards overcrowding it is also favourable, but the powers conferred
upon sanitary authorities under the by-laws have been to a large extent held in reserve, and use has
not hitherto been made of the ability to proceed straightway for penalty on proof of infringement
of the by-law. There are other matters which can be dealt with by by-law besides cleansing and overcrowding.
These two are, however, the main questions to which the provisions of the by-laws are
addressed, and they appear therefore at the present time to be most deserving of attention. It may
be noted that the by-laws of a few districts contain a provision dealing with the separation of the sexes.
These provisions do not appear, however, to have been as yet extensively applied.
It now remains to consider difficulties which have been met with in connection with the regulation
of houses let in lodgings.
In the districts in which some effort has been made to deal with this subject, the chief difficulty
which has arisen has been the fact that the sanitary inspectors have not been able to devote sufficient
time to periodical inspection of tenement houses. The effective operation of by-laws necessarily implies
systematic inspection, and the staff has frequently been found inadequate for this purpose. It may be
noted that Chelsea and Hackney, the two districts which had made use of tenement regulations prior to
1885, have not continued to keep their registers up to date, and one of the reasons of this failure
appears to be that the demands made upon the inspectors by other work have fully occupied all their
time.
Apart from this question of sufficiency of staff one or two minor difficulties have arisen. In the
first place the procedure, in the event of its being found necessary to take a case into court, is in some
respects rather more complicated than it is under the nuisance section of the Public Health Act. Thus
formal proof of registration is usually required, and delay has arisen in some cases in which there has
been a change of ownership from the fact that the person registered has been found to have disposed of
his interest in the property. Inasmuch as a technical objection has been successfully sustained in one
or two instances, it is clear that there is need for care in ensuring accuracy with regard to particulars of
this kind. Again, questions have arisen in cases in which a house has been let and sub-let, as to the
person who should be registered as the landlord of the premises. It has been suggested that the actual
owner of tenement property might find it practicable to rid himself of responsibility by letting each