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65
Moreover, the Police Authorities have power, where the Vestry
fails in duty, as have also the Privy Council, and the Metropolitan
Board of Works. But although the Police have occasionally,
hut very rarely, given notice of nuisances, neither of these
authorities has ever found it necessary to exercise their
power in Clerkenwell.
In a subsequent letter, addressed to the Yestry, in reply to a
letter sent to him upon this subject, Sir Charles Dilke stated,
that having visited the whole of tho 39 Districts of tho
Metropolis, he considers that the evils to which he pointed were
greater in Clerkenwell than in any of the others. Sir Charles
also supported his statement by the evidence of two clergymen
of the Parish, and four School Board visitors. Now, anyone
would have thought, that if these gentlemen were sincere and
aware of a number of terrible nuisances existing in the Parish,
they would have reported them to the Vestry, by whose officers all
nuisances are at once attended to as soon as discovered or entered
in the complaint book. But what is the fact? During the past
year, we have had about 20 notices of the occurrence of zymotic
diseases—Hooping Cough, Measles, and Scarlet Fever, from the
School Board Officers, found out by children not attending
school, and one stopped-up W.C., but not a single complaint of
overcrowding or bad sanitary condition of dwelling.
Sir Charles Dilke also states, "that there were 14 house
farmers in the Vestry, and 12 publicans, who seemed to work
very much with them, and that state of things had undoubtedly
led to insufficient care being taken by the Vestry of the condition
of the Parish." Assuming the above numbers to be correct,
although they are not so, they form but a small portion of the total
number, which is 72. 26 have little chance of carrying on their
evil ways against the remaining 46, even were they so disposed.
But I deny that these members have ever exerted an interference
with the sanitary proceedings of the Parish. The complaints
and nuisances have always for years back been reported upon,
and where the law permitted, if they were not remedied, legal
proceedings wove taken,