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158
Very shortly after the passing of the Sanitary Act of
1860, regulations with respect to Houses let in Lodgings (of
which a copy is appended) were framed and adopted by the
Vestry, and received the sanction of the Local Government
Board. These were enforced with undoubted advantage
(not universally, but in localities determined by the
character of the property and of the inhabitants) for some
years; but they were difficult to enforce by reason of the
fact that there was not an unfrequent change of landlords
or of agents representing landlords, and that tenants were
constantly changing, and that hence the regulations (which
could only be enforced against persons who had received
due notice and were on the register) were constantly becoming
invalid, and the whole process of registration had to be
gone through over and over again. This difficulty led to a
gradual falling off in the number of houses on the register;
and to the final abandonment of the practice of registration
about the year 1882, the houses which had been registered
being henceforth subjected to frequent periodical visits, and
being dealt with under the ordinary clauses of the Sanitary
Acts.
At the end of 1883 the attention of the Metropolitan
Vestries was called by the Local Government Board to the
fact that many of them had never availed themselves of the
power conferred on them by the 33rd Section of the Sanitary
Act, 1866; and the Vestry of Camberwell availed itself of
the opportunity thus afforded it of amending its regulations
with the object of rendering them more easy of application.
The regulations, which were finally adopted by the Vestry
(and of which a copy is enclosed) were sent up to the Local
Government Board, and I have lately ascertained that they
received the sanction of that Board, and hence are of legal