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the houses entered in the old register with a view to deciding as to their re-registration. A few houses
formerly subject to regulations had, however, been demolished, and only 18 houses are entered in the
new register at the present time (July, 1897). It is obvious that the use of the new by-laws requires
to be considerably extended.
St. Luke.— Regulations came into force in 1885, but little or no use appears to have been made
of them. By-laws under the Public Health (London) Act were confirmed in 1895. The limit of rental
fixed in the exemption clause of these by-laws in the case of unfurnished lodgings is 3s., and there can
be no doubt that this limit is too low. Sixteen houses only have been placed on the register at the
date of this inquiry. In his annual report for 1896, Dr. Yarrow, the medical officer of health of
St. Luke, writes, concerning these houses, that they "are the only houses at present on the vestry's
register, although a very large number exist in the parish which the by-laws were intended to include,
and which in my opinion should be registered. The amount of rent paid, however (3s. per week)
excludes them from the operation of the by-laws."
St. Mcvrtin-in-the-Fields.—In this parish regulations have been in force since 1884. They have
been largely used. I visited a number of registered houses in company with the inspector who has
the duty of seeing that the regulations are enforced. The registered houses are clean, well maintained,
and free from the ordinary sanitary defects. Their condition is the more remarkable from the close
and confined situation of many of these houses, and from the fact that they are for the most part of
considerable age. The houses are inspected once a month and biennial cleansing is carried out. I
did not find any evidence of overcrowding. These houses are a striking instance of the beneficial
result produced by the persevering use of the power to regulate by by-law houses let in lodgings.
St. Olave.—Regulations were adopted in 1866 under the Act of that year, but they were not
enforced. In 1893 by-laws under the Act of 1891 were confirmed. Up to the present time however
only 11 houses have been actually placed upon the register. These houses include only premises in the
case of which (with one or two exceptions) the landlord is non-resident. Measurements have been
made and particulars ascertained in the case of other houses, and the question as to the desirability of
registering these houses will be shortly under consideration. I visited most of the houses already
registered and found them to be occupied in a manner suggesting the need of their being regulated by
by-law and subjected to periodical inspection. There must be a number of other houses in this district
to which the by-laws might with advantage be applied.
St. Pancras.—By-laws were confirmed in 1893, and a few houses have been placed on the
register. The number registered at the present time is, however, only 166. There must be a large
number of houses in this district to which by-laws might with great advantage be applied. I found,
in the course of three days' inspection, numerous instances of houses urgently requiring to be kept
under proper supervision, and the experience gained rendered it quite clear that adequate supervision
cannot be exercised over tenement houses in this parish unless the existing staff is strengthened for
the purpose. I have noted numerous instances of dirty and dilapidated conditions of rooms, of overcrowding,
and of other conditions requiring remedy. In some of the streets I visited I found many
cases of overcrowding; in some houses the overcrowding was not limited to one room, but many of
the rooms were admittedly accommodating a number of persons in excess of the limits laid down in
the by-laws. Many of the houses I visited were in an exceedingly dirty and vermin-infested condition.
There is obviously much need for an increased amount of inspection in this parish, and some of
the conditions commonly met with and which call for remedy with special urgency, are precisely those
which could be satisfactorily dealt with by the enforcement of the existing by-laws relating to houses
let in lodgings.
St. Saviour, Southwark.—No use was made of the power of regulating houses let in lodgings
conferred under the Sanitary Act. By-laws were made under the Act of 1891 and confirmed in 1894.
No use has been made of these by-laws.
Shoreditch.—Regulations were adopted in 1866; no large use was made of them. By-laws
under the Public Health (London) Act were confirmed in 1894. Up to the present time 96 houses
have been placed upon the register. It is clear that there is need for further extending the operation
of the by-laws in this district.
Stoke Newington.—By-laws were confirmed by the Local Government Board in 1895. The
"exemption clause" in these by-laws fixes the limits of rental at 2s. 6d. in the case of unfurnished
and 4s. in the case of furnished lodgings. These limits are lower than those fixed in the
case of any other district, and it appears likely that they will be found to exclude from the operation of
the by-laws almost all the houses in the parish. No houses are registered at the present time in Stoke
Newington.
Strand.— Regulations under the Sanitary Act were not made use of in this district. By-laws
under the Public Health (London) Act came into force in 1894. In April, 1896, 86 tenements had been
dealt with, and a special inspector was engaged in the inspection of registered houses. During 1896
police court proceedings were instituted in two instances. The number of houses on the register in
June, 1897, was 75, so that no extension of the use of by-laws has recently been made; moreover, the
inspector's time has been largely occupied with other duties. The condition of the majority of the
registered houses which I visited bore testimony to the value of by-laws, and much good would result
if they were more largely employed in the Strand district. The question of overcrowding in particular
would appear to require attention in this district.
Wandsworth.— The district board did not make regulations under the Act of 1866. By-laws
under the Act of 1891 were confirmed in 1893. A few houses have been registered in two of the five
parishes which are included in the Wandsworth district.
Thus in Clapham some 28 houses in one street have been entered on the register, but
no systematic attempt to make use of by-laws on a considerable scale has been made. The
condition of the registered houses suggests that full advantage is not taken of the powers which
by-laws afford, even in the case of the single street to which they have been made to apply.