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30
Unfortunately, however, those courts are so scattered over the parish
as not to form an area sufficiently largo for tho Metropolitan Board of
Works to take into consideration under the Artizans' and Labourers'
Dwellings Acts, and the working of Torrens' Act seems to present such
difficulties that tho Vestries are afraid to take proceedings under it,
and tho individual members, being large ratepayers themselves, are
more inclined to look upon a scheme of this kind from a financial
rather than from a sanitary point of view.
In September and October last, in accordance with instructions from
the Home Office, I made a special examination of the district with a
view to make a representation under some one of the Artizans'
and Labourers' Dwellings Acts; the result of my observations was
presented to the Vestry in the form of a report which will be found in
tho Appendix; but as at the time this Report was presented the
Vestry was about to appoint a new Surveyor, the consideration of the
matter was allowed to stand over, and no special action has yet been
taken in the direction pointed out in that report.
Pending the action of the Vestry, the Sanitary Committee thought
it advisable to take such steps as lay in its power to rectify some of
the evils brought to light, and vigorous action was taken to compol
the owners of property to put their houses into something like decent
order. A large number of notices were served and an enormous
amount of repairing and cleansing was done; the small landlords were
evidently frightened by the popular outcry, and required much less
spurring than usual.
Some of the worst cases were taken before the magistrate at
Worship Street, and orders were obtained to close premises as unfit
for habitation.
Rose Court has been closed, and has since been pulled down;
30, Old Nichol Street; 2 and 3, Maidstone Place; 1, 2, and New
Turville Street; 8, 9, and 10, Mead Street were similarly dealt with,
and Princes Court and Princes Place have also been pulled down.
With respect to defective water supply accommodation in the
courts, the Committee passed a resolution that they were of opinion
that there should be a separate supply of water for each house which
has a yard, and that in courts where the houses have no yards there
should be one stand-pipe for every five houses. Most of the courts
have at present only one stand-pipe, irrespective of the number of