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45
TENEMENT HOUSE REGULATIONS.
Regulations were first adopted by this Vestry under the Sanitary
Act of 1866. They were, however, never put in operation and
consequently lapsed.
Bye-laws as to houses let in lodgings were made, as required by
Section 94 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, in November,
1894, and were sanctioned by the Local Government Board in
January, 1895. Under these bye-laws power is reserved (Clause 2)
by the Vestry to limit their application solely to such lodging houses
as they deem it necessary to register. As they have, up to the
present date, deemed it unnecessary to register any lodging house
in the parish, no action can be taken under the regulations.
The Sanitary Committee have no power to register, and though
I have on one or two occasions reported certain houses as suitable
for registration, no action has been taken in the direction indicated,
except that in 1896 the Sanitary Committee resolved to recommend
the Vestry to register certain houses in Fuller Street. The resolution
met with considerable opposition, and at the following meeting was
rescinded. From time to time, enquiry as to the working of the
bye-laws has been made, addressed on behalf of the London County.
Council both to your Vestry Clerk and to your Medical Officer.
Our only answer has been, "No houses on the register at present."
Similar enquiries were addressed to the officers of every other
London district. The replies to these queries seem to have satisfied
the London County Council and their Medical Officers that the
regulations were workable and useful where they had been put in
operation and given a fair trial. This opinion was evidently not
shared by all the sanitary authorities of the Metropolis ; for, though
all had made bye-laws, yet in many districts these remained a
dead letter.
Further enquiries and further reports were made by Mr. Shirley
Murphy, the Medical Officer of the Council, and in September
Dr. Hamer, the Assistant Medical Officer, presented a full report
to the Council showing what was being done in every metropolitan
parish. This report shows that in 31 districts houses have been