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brush replace the indescribable material of which an unpaved
yard is composed, it is instructive to notice with what
eagerness the scrubbing brush is applied. Again and again
have I witnessed a dirty court, full of dirty people, transformed
by a small outlay on the part of the landlord into a
thrifty and pleasant place.
Landlords are never tired of complaining of the improvident
habits of their tenants, their destructive proclivities, and
their filthy ways, and in some districts of the parish they arc
not without reason for their complaint. But these gentlemen
should remember that the remedy often lies in their own
hands. Habits destructive alike to their own interest, to that
of the tenant, and the parish at large, are engendered,
fostered, and exaggerated by the neglect of the property
owner. A dilapidated house, with defective drains and filthy
surroundings, will certainly exert an influence, and that not
of a beneficial character, upon the occupier. As cleanly and
healthful surroundings lead to an elevation in the moral
nature, as surely do the filthy and unwholesome lead to its
decay. The existence of a few badly paved, badly drained
and insanitary dwellings will often result in the lapse into a
lower tone of the inhabitants of the whole court. More than
once I have been told that the expense incurred at the
instance of the Vestry by the landlord in house improvement
has been more than recouped from the resulting alacrity on
the part of the tenant to meet his engagements, and property
which before was a constant scene of discontent and
eviction, from the improved relations which have been
established between owner and occupier afterwards, has
been regarded as furnishing a sound return upon the capital
investment.
The houses of the working classes of Lambeth, although
probably in a better sanitary condition than dwellings of a