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necessitated 2,826 visits, and 9 summonses were taken out. In the 586 houses on the register, 396
cases of infectious disease are known to have occurred. The occupants of the 586 houses
numbered 9,295, 6,512 under ten years of age, and 2,783 aged ten years and upwards. The attack
rate of notifiable diseases in 1903 was 8.30 per 1,000, compared with 4.78 for the rest of the
borough; the death.rates from "all causes" were 39.9 per 1,000 persons under ten years of age
and 20 9 per 1,000 persons ten years and upwards. In the rest of the borough these rates were
respectively 281 and 11.4.
Kensington.— The number of houses on the register was 2,050.
Hammersmith.— The total number of houses on the register was 1,818. During the year
261 notices were served, nearly all of which were complied with.
Fulham.— New by.laws for houses let in lodgings were made by the Council and sanctioned
by the Local Government Board in October. "In these by.laws the 'owner,' i.e., the person
who receives, or is entitled to receive, the rack rent of the house, is made responsible for the
annual cleansing of the premises, the condition of the drains, etc., in place of, as in the old
by.laws, the 'landlord,' who was the person by whom the rooms were actually let, since in
administering the by.laws it was found that the latter was frequently in such a finanical position
as to be unable to comply with the requirements." "As originally submitted to the Board
the by.laws only applied to such of the houses let in lodgings as were registered by the Council,
but the Board objected to this on the ground that, as they were informed by the London County
Council, it lent itself to lax administration." By.laws without an exemption clause were then
submitted, but the Local Government Board were not prepared to assent to them, and a by.law
was then made and approved by the Board exempting from the operation of the by.laws lodging.
houses where the rent paid by each lodger for unfurnished rooms was 12s. a week and upwards,
and for furnished rooms 15s. a week and upwards. Arrangements were made for the active
administration of the by.laws, and one of the inspectors was instructed to devote himself entirely
to this work. As a result of the decision in the case of Stiles v. Galinski, the work is in abeyance,
but the Council has drafted the necessary amendment for submission to the Board.
Westminster.— By.laws as to houses let in lodgings were approved by the Local Government
Board, A clause exempts houses from the operation of the by.laws if the rent payable
by the lodger is 15s. or upwards, exclusive of furniture, and 18s. and upwards inclusive of
furniture. Dr. Allan states that the requirement as to cubic space is based on an extremely low
standard; the limits are 300 cubic feet for each person over ten years of age for a room used exclusively
as a sleeping apartment, and 400 cubic feet for rooms not exclusively so used, half this, space
being required for children under ten years of age.
Hampstead.— Dr. Littlejohn writes: "Arrangements were being made, as far as the staff
would permit, to inspect tenement houses, when the town clerk advised that under the by.laws
at present in operation the lime.washing of these places could only be enforced during the
months of April and May every year, and further, that a house let in lodgings or occupied by
members of more than one family was, by virtue of by.law 2, exempt from the operations
of the by.laws, until the present landlord had been required to make a return in pursuance of
by.law 5; the result being that a very large number of houses on the register were exempted
owing to a change of landlord having taken place. Consequently no work has been accomplished
under the provisions of the by.laws beyond requiring the landlord, in every case where there
had been a change, to make the return required so that a proper inspection could be proceeded
with in April and May of next year." Dr. Littlejohn states that the by.laws are unsatisfactory
in other respects, especially in making the landlord, and not the owner, responsible for the
limewashing and decorative work, and for the maintenance of the sanitary appliances of all kinds.
St. Pancras.— During the year 42 tenement houses were measured for registration, and
at the end of the year 1,838 were upon the register, 2,307 periodical half.yearly inspections were
made, and 5,535 re.inspections after the service of notices.
Islington.— At the end of the year there were 655 houses on the register, 122 more than
at the end of the preceding year. There were 1,566 separate inspections and 6,841 re.
inspections of, and visits to registered houses, resulting in 2,254 nuisances being abated in 1,049
houses. Dr. Harris expresses a strong opinion as to the need of appointment of an additional
inspector to assist the inspector upon whom devolves the duty of inspecting registered houses.
He states: "The Public Health Committee are now considering the whole position of the sanitary
staff, and it is hoped that before very long the additional assistance will be obtained." In
a special report to his authority on "the duties of sanitary inspectors," he refers to a
return on "Sanitary officers," issued by the County Council, and states that an examination
of this report "shows that in nearly every borough inspectors are being selected for special work,
those with a special aptitude being chosen," and in a preface to his annual report he writes:
"I am glad to know that your Public Health Committee are resolved that that portion of the
Public Health (London) Act, 1891, dealing with tenement houses shall be firmly administered,
and that an inspector, who shall devote the whole of his time, shall be appointed to inspect
houses let in the northern part of the borough, as is already done in its southern district."
Stoke Newington.— At the end of the year there were 180 houses on the register, 61 having
been added during the year. Dr. Kenwood states that in the borough, more especially in the
southern division, there is a considerable number of houses let in lodgings under circumstances
and conditions which make it desirable, in the interest of personal and public health, that they
should be registered and inspected at frequent intervals.
Hackney.— During 1903, 135 houses let in lodgings were inspected. The chief defects
noted and remedied were dirty rooms, passages, yard paving and dust.bins.