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Limehouse—With respect to proceedings concerning houses in the Chusan-place area, it is
stated that closing orders were obtained for some houses and refused for others which had been
subsequently improved.
Mile-end Old-town—The medical officer of health reports that owners of property do not
allow their houses to get into the same dilapidated condition as formerly, and he thinks this may
be due to the increased value of the houses. He observes that it is a common practice to raise the
rents of houses which have recently changed hands from 20 to 50 per cent.
Poplar and Bromley—The medical officer of health states that he decided to represent under
Part I. of the Act of 1890 Burford's-court, Tucker's-court, Dingle-court, and Dingle-lane.
St. George-the-Martyr—A special report is given of certain areas which the medical officer
of health designates the Grotto-place, the King's Bench-walk, and the Webber-row areas, and for
which he urges the need of improvement schemes.
Bermondsey—Proceedings for closing of houses under the Act of 1890 led to the displacement
of thirteen families, comprising eighty persons. The medical officer of health expresses the
opinion that the present density of the population of 137 persons per acre is quite sufficient to
affect the death-rate unfavourably, and that any further crowding of more people on a limited area
is not desirable from a sanitary point of view. He writes that " the question of overcrowding has
been exaggerated and misrepresented. The fact that a person with a large family is unable to
find a house or room in the parish to suit his requirements is no proof whatever that a single house
is overcrowded, or has not the necessary cubic space for its inmates, but, on the contrary, it is a
proof that overcrowding is not permitted in Bermondsey, that the vestry's by-laws are stringent,
and are carried out with due vigilance by the inspectors, and that without such by-laws and constant
inspection a lamentable amount of overcrowding would very rapidly take place. Whether the
area of the parish is or is not already crowded with houses is an entirely different matter. The
existence of 30 blocks of model lodging-houses and artizans' dwellings, with 1,597 tenements, has
had no effect in reducing the competition for small private dwelling-houses, or lowering their
rents."
Lambeth—The number of houses represented in each year in and since 1893 has been 6, 39,
16, 96, 40, 45. With respect to the 45 represented in 1898, no application was made to the
magistrate, agreement having been made with the owners.
Battersea—A number of vans were found to be overcrowded. By-laws made under thet
Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1885, require 150 cubic feet of air space for each adult, and
75 cubic feet for each child under 12 years of age, and the deficiency in several of these vans
was considerable. The conditions found in 1898 showed, however, an improvement on those
found in 1895, both as respects overcrowding and cleanliness.
Greenwich—Since the opening of the Blackwall-tunnel there has been a large influx of the
artizan and labouring classes into Greenwich, and the medical officer of health states that it is
impossible to obtain proper house accommodation at a reasonable rental, and that there are some
open spaces (which have been cleared of insanitary houses) lying idle, which might with advantage
be built on.
Woolwich—Proceedings were taken under the Act of 1890 concerning houses in Dicey-street
having basement rooms represented as unfit for habitation. The court declined to make a closing
order, and the medical officer of health writes—" Since then the condition of the rooms has been
made even worse than before, the windows having been closed up and the areas filled in with
earth, thus giving increased facilities for damp to soak into the walls. I understand that the
rooms, which although now without light or ventilation, except through the door, are still used
as bedrooms, in some cases at any rate, but, unfortunately, so long as they are occupied in conjunction
with a room on the floor above, no legal remedy is available to prevent their continued
use for this purpose."
The Regulation of Houses Let in Lodgings.
Every additional year's experience of houses occupied by the poorest of London inhabitants
emphasizes the importance of registering and regulating, when occupied by more than one family,
such houses under section 94 of the Public Health (London) Act. Enquiries which have constantly
been made by the Council's Public Health Department show that where serious effort is made
by sanitary authorities to deal in this way with tenemented houses occupied by the poor, good
results are obtained, and that difficulties which it was anticipated would attend this administration,
have largely disappeared. It is, indeed, one of the most important duties which a sanitary
authority can undertake, and is a necessity if it be determined to prevent the quality of house
accommodation falling to a level which is prejudicial to the inmates of the houses and to the
general community.
By requiring compliance with the requirements of these by-laws as to the periodical
cleansing of such houses, the maintenance of sanitary conditions within them, and their freedom
from overcrowding, the sanitary authorities have in their possession a very considerable power,
which can be exercised to the immense benefit of their districts. Unfortunately, however, it is not
infrequent to find that the greater the power to maintain houses in proper sanitary condition and to
limit their excessive use which any special statutory provision gives, the greater is the hostility
to its employment, and hence the fulfilment of the duty which is imposed upon London sanitary
authorities to regulate houses let in lodgings, makes but slow progress. More recently the wider
recognition by the public of the overcrowding which for years has existed in London, and which
still continues to exist, has served for those who are hostile to the regulation of the poorer
tenement-houses of London as a convenient cry against the enforcement of by-laws, one of which
is intended to prevent the overcrowding of dwelling-houses. Certain it is that if the amount of
accommodation were sufficiently increased in London, there is a class of person who