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in his " English Sanitary Institutions," and was ascribed by him, in the main, to want of direct touch
with Parliament. The more rapid levelling up of backward districts would undoubtedly be
facilitated, if, in the first place, the Local Government Board were relieved of some of its purely
local administrative duties, and additional powers were conferred upon such bodies as county councils
with extension of the principle of acting in default which is already in operation in London ; and in
the second place if it were found practicable to enhance the prestige of that branch of the Board's
administrative work concerned with public health. Various proposals have been made with a view
to the accomplishment of the last-named object ; the main drawback to the suggestion of the Physical
Deterioration Committee with regard to an advisory council appearing to be that, instead of
enhancing the prestige of the central executive authority, it would tend to diminish it.
(4) and (12) Overcrowding.
The Physical Deterioration Committee believe " the time has come for dealing drastically
with this problem" and advocate an experimental effort by the local authority in certain of
the worst districts, in the direction of fixing a standard, and notifying that after a given date no
crowding in excess of such standard would be permitted.
The Public Health Committee of the Council has always acted upon the lines here laid down, and
has urged from time to time upon local authorities the need of remodelling and enforcing by-laws
regulating houses let in lodgings, and, when necessary, has not hesitated to recommend the Council
to make representations to the Local Government Board concerning defaulting authorities.
Though the attempt is still occasionally made to represent that enforcement of these by-laws
would unduly interfere with the privacy of the home, the fact is becoming more and more generally
appreciated that the only real objectors to the by-laws are the owners of insanitary property. There
have been difficulties, notably as to exemption clauses—as to the definition of the word "landlord"—as
to requiring notice to be given to owners under particular circumstances, etc., etc.; but during the
14 years which have elapsed since the passing of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, much useful
work has been done under the by-laws by a few enterprising authorities, and at the present time the
borough councils of London, generally speaking, are showing an increasing desire to put them in
operation.
In an appendix to their report the Physical Deterioration Committee print a statement, prepared
for the Committee with the assistance of the Local Government Board, of the law as to insanitary
and overcrowded house property.
(5) Labour Colonies and Public Nurseries.
The Physical Deterioration Committee recommend, as a last resource for dealing with habitual
vagrants, compulsory detention in labour colonies, the children being lodged in public nurseries.
Similar treatment as regards children might, it is suggested, be applied to the children of parents
who have " proved unfit to discharge their obligations to those they bring into the world." With a
view to the enforcement of parental responsibility,''the object," the report of the Committee states,
" would be to make the parent the debtor to society on accont of the child and to empower the
local authority to charge the former with the cost of a suitable maintenance, with the farther
liability in case of default of being placed in a labour establishment under State supervision until
the debt is worked off."
A departmental committee on vagrancy has recently been collecting evidence concerning labour
colonies, and I think the Council would do well to have before it that committee's report before
expressing any opinion.
With regard to public nurseries, the recommendation needs to be considered in connection with
recommendation (44), which is as follows—
(44) Creches.
"Wherever it was thought desirable, owing to the employment of married women in factories or
for other reasons, to establish municipal creches, girls over 14 might be made to attend occasionally
and the teaching of infant management to such girls should be eligible for aid from the grant for
public education."
A report on creches prepared by the chief officer of the Public Control department was printed by
order of the Public Control Committee on 8th July, 1904. That report and recommendation (44)
have already been considered by the Education Committee, who state in a memorandum, dated
5th April, 1905, addressed to the Public Health Committee, that they have informed the Public
Control Committee " they offer no opinion as to whether it is desirable to establish crshes, but in
the event of the Council establishing creches, and provided that the staff and general arrangements
are such as would offer available demonstration to girls of school age as to the management of
children, the Committee would be prepared to arrange for selected girls from the Council's housewifery
centres to visit the creces.
The Committee will remember that the conference of representatives of sanitary authorities held
at the County Hall on 18th July, 1903, unanimously resolved that it was "desirable that
metropolitan borough councils should be empowered at their discretion to establish creches for the
reception of young children during the hours their mothers are employed in work away from home
and to make reasonable charges for the accommodation, etc., provided, and the food of the children,
and that the London County Council be requested to insert in their General Powers Bill for the
session 1905 a clause to confer such powers upon the said borough councils."
The following recommendation was made in a report, dated 7th July, 1905, by the Public Control
Committee to the London County Council-