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67
Conference on the Housing of the Working Classes
Act, Part III.
The London County Council have, in common with the
Metropolitan Boroughs, powers and duties under Part III.
of the Housing of the Working Classes Act. That is to say,
both local and central authorities can purchase land and
build cottages or lodging-houses ; in the one case the
expense falling on the locality, in the other on the whole
administrative area. The London County Council, therefore,
wisely convened a conference of representatives of the
various boroughs in order, if possible, to define the various
spheres of action and to prevent, as far as possible, overlapping.
The Council appointed three representatives, the
Rev. H. Russell Wakefield, Mr. J. Boyton, and the writer,
and the conference duly took place. The results were not
encouraging ; no general agreement having been come to of
any value ; a second meeting will probably take place in
October.
It is the writer's personal opinion that it would be more
useful if the London County Council provided for the wants of
the Metropolis under Part III. of theHousingof theWorking
Classes Act, and that the Borough Councils did not individually
put Part III. in force. The reason for this opinion is
that it is impracticable for anyborough after acquiring land or
premises to confine its use under Part III. to its own district.
For example, suppose this Borough acquire an estate in,
say, St. John's Wood, or Kilburn, or Willesden, and erect
thereon suitable dwellings, it would not in practice be
possible to accept only Marylebone workers as tenants : the
actual tenants would be drawn from every part of the
metropolis, because the working classes, according to the
conditions of employment, are constantly flitting from
district to district. Of course, it is not to be denied that
such action on the part of this Borough would assist in
solving a great problem ; but it is a problem that cannot,
with any justness, be solved by schemes supported and
initiated by local funds, the more especially since the
boroughs, supposing they do much in this direction individually,
will not only have to bear the whole expense and
responsibility of their own schemes, but also pay their