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to accede to the request, so that although it will take time to
do away with these places, they will as circumstances permit be
abolished. In our own district there were two such cases, viz.,
two slaughterhouses; the rest have been regularly inspected,
and found to be kept in a satisfactory condition.
Houses let in Lodgings.
During the present year this matter has again been brought
before the Vestry. The County Council submitted a report
made by one of their Medical Officers of Health, asking for the
Vestry to comment thereon. The report was as to the working
of the Bye-laws for regulating houses let in lodgings, in the
various districts of London. It may not be known to all of
you that under the Sanitary Act of 1866 and also the Public
Health Act 1891, every Vestry is bound to make Bye-laws for
regulating houses of this class, which means houses that are let
to more than one family. From the report it appears that in
every London district Bye-laws for the regulation of Houses let
in Lodgings were adopted, but only in a limited number of
districts has any considerable effort been made to enforce them.
The Vestry of the Hamlet of Mile End Old Town was one of
the first bodies in London to adopt regulations of this class;
some years ago under the Sanitary Act 1866, a certain number
of houses were placed under their influence, but the Sanitary
staff at that time was so small that a thorough trial was never
really made to enforce them. When the Public Health Act
1891 was passed, it became obligatory to those parishes who
had not adopted regulations to do so, and the Council wrote to
each district urging on them the necessity of at once complying.
I find that about 27 districts responded, but only a limited
number have as yet put them in practice. But inasmuch as
we had the regulations in force it was not necessary to make
new regulations under this Act. We have had for some time
174 houses under the regulations, and since the Sanitary staff
was augmented we have enforced these Bye-laws. Dr. Hamer
in his report says "It is impossible to require precisely the same
methods to be adopted in all districts." With this I cordially