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Acts. Again, under the contemplated regulations the lodgers would
be held responsible for the cleanliness of certain portions of the
premises, and would be liable to prosecution if they failed in their
duties. For example: it is very unfair to make a landlord responsible
for the dirty condition of a closet pan, as if he provides suitable
apparatus it is the duty of the user to see that it is kept in a cleanly
state.
Many members of the Vestry were afraid of putting the clause
against overcrowding in operation: it was considered that a great
many people would be driven either out of the parish or into the
workhouse, as many poor families would be utterly unable to afford
the extra room. Now there is really not so much overcrowding as
many people think. I measured every room in Old Nichol Street (all
tenements), and if the statements of the inmates may be believed,
very few rooms had a greater number of occupants than the bye-laws
would have sanctioned. Of course, these statements may have been
false; but the only way to verify them would be by making a night
inspection, and counting the sleepers. At present we have no power
to do this, but a clause in the contemplated bye-laws would have
given the necessary authority.
UNHEALTHY HOUSES.
In November, 1883, I certified certain houses to be in a condition
dangerous to health, so as to be unfit for human habitation, and such
as should be dealt with under the provisions of the Artizans' and
Labourers' Dwellings Acts, 1868. The Vestry, however, declined to
act upon this certificate, and preferred instead to deal with the houses
scheduled under the Sanitary and Nuisance Removal Acts. Notices
were accordingly served upon the owners, and a great deal of
cleansing and repairing was done in obedience to these orders. Some
of the worst houses were closed by order of the Magistrate, and others
were turned into workshops.
Our action has been successful, so far as it went; but my contention
is that it did not go far enough. Many of the houses are so structurally
bad. and either so old, or built of such bad materials, that no
process of cleansing or patching up can make them healthy habitations.
Very many are damp, and this condition is in many instances
practically irremediable. I am told that years ago many small
builders were in the habit of using the refuse lime from soapworks