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the district of houses the condition of which does not readily admit of remedy, and of badly arranged
courts and alleys. For the former, application for closing orders should be made by the sanitary
authority, and for the latter steps should be taken for demolition and rearrangement. In this
connection it is necessary to refer to the fact that recently a representation was made to the sanitary
authority by their medical officer of health as to an area near Leather-lane, including Half Moon-court,
Crown-court, Providence-place, Union terrace and buildings and Dove-court, which in his opinion,
owing to the many "grave sanitary structural and architectural defects," could only be satisfactorily
dealt with by scheme under the Housing of the Working Classes Act, and it is pointed out in the
report that the adoption of any other course would only lead to partial amelioration of the insanitary
conditions existing. The Board of Works however did not adopt their medical officer's report, and
decided to deal with the insanitary conditions by serving notices under the Public Health (London)
Act. Work in compliance with these notices was going on at the time of inspection, but the result of
this method of dealing with the conditions prevailing cannot be other than unsatisfactory.
The Board should provide within the limits of the district a properly furnished shelter for the
use of persons during the disinfection of their rooms.
C. W. F. Young,
Public Health Department, Assistant Medical Officer of Health.
Spring-gardens, S.W.,
29th October, 189G.