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35
the Board, and as it is, and has been of the greatest value to the
district, I shall conclude my report by extracts, pp. 28 and 29,
from the First Report of Her Majesty's Commissioners on the
Housing of the Working Classes.
"Hackney is a district of a different character from
"Chelsea. Only a small proportion of its inhabitants are of
"the wealthier classes, and its area is occupied entirely by
"the middle and lower classes. The Hackney District Board
"in September, 1866, soon after the passage of the Sanitary
"Act, applied to the Secretary of State for the confirmation
"of draft regulations, and when this was obtained two special
"Inspectors were appointed to measure the rooms in streets
"where houses were chiefly occupied by members of more
"than one family. The services of these Inspectors were
"continued until 4,600 houses were inspected, under the
"personal supervision of the medical officer. The work
"appears to have been of a thorough character; the measure"ment
of each room was entered into a book, and the number
"of persons who might legally occupy each room was fixed ;
"notices were served upon the owners or persons letting the
"house, requiring them to limit the number of lodgers and to
"cleanse their houses, and the number of notices served in
"1867-8 was nearly 3,000. The work is said to have been
"so well done that, without any care being relaxed, the
"numbers dropped from nearly 1,300 in 1870, to 68 in 1873.
"Since that time the annual number seems to have been on
"the average about 150, and most of them are served upon
"new houses or re-sold after change of ownership.
"The consequence of the work being taken in hand in
"Hackney systematically from the beginning is that out of
"6,000 houses occupied among the lower classes by members
"of more than one family, over 5,000 are registered, and are
"under inspection and visitation."
"The foregoing shows what good work can be done with
"existing legislation by local authorities, provided they are
"well disposed. Given energetic medical officers and
"surveyors, and intelligent and disinterested members of
"local Boards to support them in their suggestions, and half
"the difficulty of the question is at once met. But, on the
"other hand, a very different state of things has been
"described in evidence as to some other local bodies in the
" metropolis.
c 2