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111
Classes." They observed that "it does not in any way touch the
Metropolis Local Management Acts" (as in some respects the
new Bill will), "but as it will finally clear the Statute Book
of 14 Statutes, all of which are already repealed as regards
the rest of England, it cannot fail, if passed, to prove very
useful to sanitary authorities and sanitary officials alike." *
Mr. Ritchie quoted with approval an observation by Lord Shaftesbury
that the Labouring Classes Lodging Houses Acts (1851 to
1885) known as "Lord Shaftesbury's Acts," would, "if properly
carried out, meet almost every requirement in regard to the
Housing of the Working Classes, and remedy a great part of the
existing evils": he added, however, that although the Housing
of the Working Classes Act, 1885, had made the administration
of the Acts metropolitan instead of parochial, nothing had been
done. This statement is almost equally true at the present time.
The Law Committee, in the report cited above, commenting
on my Special Report of March 13th, 1885, expressed an
opinion that these Acts "could be dealt with satisfactorily only
by an authority having power to consider the requirements of
the labouring classes in London as a whole." Such an authority
is the London County Council, which has shewn its interest
in the question by appointing a Housing of the Working
Classes Committee, whose first report (dated March 12th)
intimated that they had "caused an abstract of the Acts relating
to the Housing of the Working Classes to be made, with a
statement as to the extent to which the powers have hitherto
been exercised by the Metropolitan Board of Works and other
local authorities." This Committee have given much attention
to the subject, but their labours have not at present had much
practical effect. Mr. Ritchie stated that Lord Shaftesbury's Acts
enable the Council to "hire, purchase, erect, furnish, manage,
and let houses as lodgings for the working classes," a course, as
we shall see, that the County Council have decided to adopt, so far
as to erect a model common lodging-house. The Council, he
* Special Report on Sanitary, Nuisances Removal, and other cognate Acts :
January 8th, 1886, page 16.