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9
The Bill contains numerous clauses relating to the construction of buildings,
and it duly sets forth the duties of District Surveyors, and the providing
for their fees, &c , but the clauses relating to sanitary matters are few and
insufficient In other words, the rights and security of property are fully
considered; but regulations to provide for improving the health of the
people, do not appear to have much engaged the attention of the promoters of
the Bill
As I have repeatedly pointed out in several of my printed Reports, and
in a Paper published in the "Builder," and in the "Building News,"
for December 28th, 1861, the sanitary defects of the existing Building
Acts, and have also drawn the attention of the Architect to the Metropolitan
Board, to several cases in which houses unfit for habitation have been permitted
to be erected in this district, I had reason to hope that a few mora
of my suggestions for improving the sanitary condition of houses to be
erected in the future, would have been considered, and provisions made for
carrying them into effect, by the promoters of the present Bill
Under the existing law, houses can be enlarged by what is called
"a lean-to," although it may so prevent the due entrance of light and air,
as to render them unhealthy It seems to be an established practice that,
as regards house property, every person should be allowed "to do what he
likes with his own," and make as much money as possible out of it, although
in doing so, he totally disregards the health, comfort, and decency, of those
unfortunate persons who may be compelled to occupy it The evils of the
present mode of crowding together dwelling-houses, and the covering of every
available small space with additional rooms to existing houses, will, unless
prevented by stringent powers in the proposed new Building Act, greatly
increase, and especially so, if at any future time, a general poor rate should
be levied over the entire metropolis; for it will then be to the interest of the
keepers of small shops in poor neighbourhoods to give encouragement to any
plan that will tend to bring together large masses of the people
Although this Bill contains no less than 254 clauses, there is not one
which prescribes rules for the proper construction of either privies, waterclosets,
or ash-pits In short, these essential appendages to a house have
not been mentioned It is true, that the Metropolis Local Management Act
requires that every house shall have a sufficient privy and ash-pit belonging
to it; yet, that Act does not provide that these conveniences shall be within
the curtilage of the house, and to be of easy access to all the tenants; and
there is no power vested in any authority to prevent the erection of a privy
in an open court, to be common, not only to all the tenants of the court, and
perhaps so placed as to be within a few feet of a dwelling-room, and accessible
to the general public Wherever these public privies exist, of which
there are several in this district (some haying been erected since the