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67
The conditions disclosed both as to the state of the houses and
the health of the inhabitants, were so bad that I strongly urged the
Sanitary Committee, who had visited and examined the area, to
back me up in a representation to the London County Council
under part I. of the Housing of the Working Classes Act. I am
however, sorry to say I met with very little support. An opinion
was generally expressed that the area was too small for the Council
to touch, and that if a representation were made, it would either be
referred to the Vestry for them to deal with, as was done in the
previous case of Faith St., or that the Council would direct the
Vestry to take the area under Part I., themselves contributing a
small proportion of the cost. I was urged to take into consideration
the enormous expenses now and shortly about to be incurred by
the Parish for the new Infirmary, for Baths and Washhouses, and
for the Electric light, etc., for with all these hanging over, the
Committee were sure the Vestry would decline to spend the money
of the ratepayers in buying up houses which had been permitted by
their owners to get into such a state as to be unfit for habitation.
I was pressed to certify the houses singly under Part II. of the Act,
in order that they might be closed and the owners compelled to put
their property into thorough repair, but with my recent experience
of Collingwood St. I felt most unwilling to repeat what had been
already done five years back. For as lately as 1893 the floors of all
the houses in Pitt St. were taken up and the earth removed from
beneath, ventilating bricks (and in some instances damp proof
courses) were inserted, the yards were repaved, the W.C.s reconstructed
and the houses generally repaired under full notices:
notwithstanding all this, the present condition of these houses is
(with the exception of the dampness) nearly as bad as it was before
all this expense was incurred, and the average mortality during the
past four years has been thirty-three in the thousand ! !! The matter
is still under consideration and will form the subject of a further report.
In the large majority of instances, a house can, by a more or less
heavy outlay, be so repaired and remodelled, as to be made fit for
habitation, but there are some houses, such as these in Pitt St. and
Faith St., where the air space is so defective, owing to the smallness
of the rooms, and the free circulation of the air is so retarded, by
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