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157
he saw in the report the material on which a body of practical
inen might work, by which some scheme could be arrived at, so
that they could be free from the reproach that on one side of the
street they were acting in one way, and on the other side in
another." The Minutes of the Conference (from which the above
excerpts are taken) inform us that "a discussion ensued as to
whether the report of the Committee, proposed to be appointed,
should be considered by another Conference to be called by the
Vestries, or by the present Conference, if called again by the
County Council." The discussion was largely irrevelant, and in
the event it was moved, "that the meeting do proceed to the next
business," which having been carried by a small majority, the
Conference may be said to have ended without result, the delegates
having failed to arrive at a" common understanding as to
the conditions or defects which would render a house, either
permanently or temporarily, 'so dangerous or injurious to health
as to be unfit for human habitation' within the meaning of the
Act."
A resolution was adopted expressive of the view :—
"That the County Council should, under sub-section 7 of section 46 of
the Act, contribute to the Local Authority one moiety of the expenses
of carrying into effect all schemes, comprising an area of five
dwelling-houses and upwards, which may be ordered by the Local
Government Board, upon the petition of the Local Authority under
section 39 of the Act."
The Conference then closed.
It was felt by several of the delegates present that so lame
and impotent a conclusion was unworthy of the occasion. Acting,
therefore, on the hint conveyed by Mr. Beachcroft in his opening
remarks, they subsequently held a meeting to consider what steps
should be taken with a view to arriving at that "common understanding"
between the Council and the District Authorities,
which at the first meeting was almost unanimously held to be
desirable, as to the "conditions or defects which would render