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7
31 and 1851-61. In the interest of the present day, the late development
was fortunate. The first Public Health Act was passed
1848, and this was a permissive one. The procedure for the adoption
of this Act was a cumbersome one, but it was simplified by the
Local Government Act of 1858.
In the middle of the eighteen sixties, the district began to develop;
certain laundries were started in the southern area and houses
were being built north of the Uxbridge Road. As the only sanitary'
authority was the Board of Guardians of the Brentford Union created
under the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, some of the inhabitants
foresaw the danger of a haphazard development and called a
meeting in October 1865 for the purpose of adopting the Local Government
Act of 1858. As usual there was opposition and a poll was
demanded. The result of the poll was 371 in favour and 143 against.
Following the poll a Local Board of Health was formed and the first
meeting of the elected Board was held in March 1866. The newly
formed Local Board of Health adopted bye-laws (among other
matters) for new streets and buildings, and those were approved by
the Home Office in August, 1866. The value of the steps taken was
soon evident, because in the following years there was a great increase
in the population; the population, estimated in 1866 at 4,876
inhabitants, had increased at the Census of 1871 to 8,306.
These facts are mentioned as they partly explain the oftrepeated
statement that there are no slums in Acton, in the usually
accepted sense of the term.
The development of the district took place when the mistakes
of the past had been discovered and precautions had been adopted
to prevent the recurrence of the deplorable conditions which
obtain in the older towns. It would be idle to suggest that the district
has developed under ideal conditions: we can always be wise
after the event. The earlier application of a town planning scheme
the acquisition of certain sites, the retention and development of
certain activities might have altered the amenities of the district
and decided the character of its social conditions: but it is futile to
speculate on what might have been: my duty is to report on the
social conditions as they now exist, and more especially their bearing
on the public health.
It would be impossible to trace all the changes which have
occurred, and are taking place, as they would require a consideration
of all the various industries and their bearing upon the social conditions
of the district. Moreover, the changes which issued from
the establishment of the newer industries are of a more complex