Full text of "The housing problem in England : its statistics, legislation and policy"

See other formats

PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
MANCHESTER

ECONOMIC SERIES.— No. VII

The Housing Problem in England

SHERRATT & HUGHES
Publishers to the Victoria University of Manchester

Manchester : 34 Cross Street
London : 60, Chandos Street W.C.

The Housing Problem
in England

Its Statistics, Legislation and Policy

ERNEST RITSON DEWSNUP, M.A.

Professor of Railway Economics in the University of Chicago

MANCHESTER

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
1907

UNIVERSITY OP MANCHESTER PUBLICATIONS
No. XXV.

PREFACE.

THE present essay is an attempt to consider the housing
problem in England with regard to three definite points,
(1) the condition of the housing of the poor, as indicated
by the statistics of the last two censuses, (2) the attitude
of the legislature towards the amelioration of the evils
connected with that housing and the extent to which the
statutory facilities afforded by it have been made use of,
and (3) some criticism of the policy involved in such
attitude.

The essay does not profess to be complete. It has been
written in fragments as the too brief intervals of a busy
life have given opportunity. In many places, lack of time
for further investigation has compelled my treatment to
be merely suggestive in nature. Still, I feel that in so
far as the book constrains its reader to view the housing
problem of England from a broader standpoint than is
customary, the time spent upon its preparation will be
more than repaid. It may be my good fortune at some
time in the future, when leisure is more abundant, to
amplify and strengthen both the statements of fact and
the arguments advanced in the present volume.

The statistical work of Chapter 3 places in a convenient
form for the first time the actual condition of overcrowd-
ing in England. I say actual condition because by such
an arrangement of facts alone is it possible to comprehend
satisfactorily the real extent and present tendency of
overcrowding. A favourite method of " writing-up " the
housing problem (made use of not only by the general
press but by more formal writers) is to pick out extreme
cases of insanitation and. overcrowding, dwelling upon the

ii. PREFACE

evils such conditions are capable of exerting upon the
physical welfare of the community. This treatment is
justifiable to a certain degree and serves the purpose of
presenting a vivid moral lesson to the public, but, neverthe-
less, the impression conveyed is naturally an exaggerated
one, and, in a scientific treatment of the subject, this is
not permissible.

Part II. lacks something of the interest attaching to
either of the other Parts, but is no less important to the
serious student of the housing question. In different
writings something has been done informally and inci-
dentally to indicate the course of legislation. The Report
of the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Working
Classes (1885) gave some attention to this matter, as also
did Mr. Stewart's Report made on behalf of the Housing
Committee of the London County Council (1891), and
there are less important references in a number of books
dealing with the housing of the poor in one way or another.
The legal handbooks, commenting upon the Housing Act
of 1890, contain cursory notes upon previous legislation.
But, in the present volume, a much more thorough treat-
ment, though still brief, has been attempted. The entire
series of housing legislation has been reviewed in such a
way as to indicate clearly the relation borne by present
legislation to that which preceded it.

The policy of reform outlined in Part III. may not be
a very popular one : it is not so heroic as many would have
it, but a careful study of the situation has forced me to
regard it as the only sure and ultimately satisfactory
treatment. If the local authorities will work along the
lines of the policy suggested, they will find that they have
as much as ever they can do adequately, satisfactorily,
and usefully in housing reform. Over-anxiousness to add
to their already too-numerous responsibilities is the be-

PREFACE iii.

setting sin of the administrators of our local governments
of to-day.

In the preparation of the book I have been aided by
many, only some of whom I can mention here. From
Professors S. J. Chapman and T. F. Tout, of Manchester,
I have received much helpful advice and criticism. For
advice or information I have also to thank most sincerely
Sir Shirley F. Murphy, Medical Officer of Health of the
County of London ; Mr. Gr. L. Gromme, Clerk of the London
County Council; Professors Smart of Glasgow, and Cum-
mings of Chicago. In endeavouring to gain a proper
understanding of the temperament and habits of the
poorer classes of the cities, I have been fortunate in being
able to draw upon the extensive experience of my father.
In the collection of material my wife has given me con-
siderable aid.

The essay was awarded, in 1903, the Warburton Essay
Prize, in the University of Manchester; a prize
established for the encouragement of research work in local
government and awarded every four years. It has since
undergone some revision and has been brought up to date
so far as possible.

EENEST E. DEWSNUP.

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO,
May, 1907.

CONTENTS.

PART I.

THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRESENT STATE OF THE HOUSING PROBLEM IN

ENGLAND.

Chapter Page

I. The English Housing Problem and its Development 3

II. Overhousing 35

III. The Facts of Overcrowding as evidenced by the Census

Returns, 1891—1901 45

PART II.
THE COURSE OF HOUSING LEGISLATION AND ITS UTILISATION IN ENGLAND.

Chapter Page

IV. The Development of Legislative Action 87

V. The History of English Legislation bearing upon the Ex-
tension of Housing Accommodation for the Working

Classes 91

VI. The History of English Legislation bearing upon House

Improvement, Dishousing and Rehousing 113

VII. The Utilisation of Housing Legislation in England 137

VIII. The Extent of the Financial Assistance granted by the
Central Government to Local Authorities and others
in connection with the Housing of the Working Classes
in England 195

PART III.

HOUSING POLICY IN ENGLAND.

Chapter Page

IX. Housing Reform and the Doctrine of Laissez-Faire 211

X. The Primary Process of Housing Reform and the Relation

of the Municipality thereto 217

XI. Slum Clearances 227

XII. The Municipality as Landlord 239

XIII. Some further Consideration of Municipal Housing Policy 253

XIV. Housing Reform and Taxation 263

XV. The Municipality and the Supervision of Urban Building

Extension 273

XVI. Some special Aspects of Housing by Voluntary Enterprise.

Transportation Facilities and the Housing Problem ... 281

XVII. The Rural Housing Problem in England.— Conclusion ... 297

Appendix A. Report upon the Relation between the Demolition of
House Property and the Living Conditions of the
Poorer Classes in the Township of Manchester 309

Appendix B. Schedule with reference to dishousing under local and

special Acts — 3 Ed. vii. c. 39 313

Reference List... , 317

vi. CONTENTS

LIST OF STATISTICAL TABLES.

Page
I. The Movement of Population in England and Wales,

1891—1901 5

II. Growth of Population in the Geographical Counties of

England and Wales, 1891—1901 6

III. Decrease of Population in the Rural Areas of the Adminis-

trative Counties of England and Wales, 1891 — 1901 ... 8

IV. Dishousing by Railway Companies and Local Authorities

under Private and Local Acts, 1885 — 1902 23

V. Overcrowding and the Death Rates — Administrative County

of London 26

VI. Annual Death Rate per 1,000 during Five Years in Back-

to-Back Houses, Manchester 29

VII. County of London Registration Districts, showing Decrease

of Population, 1891—1901 , 37

VIII. Urban Areas with a Density of Population, in 1901,

exceeding 25 Persons per Acre 41

IX. Metropolitan Overhousing, 1901 44

X. Census (1901) Overcrowding in the County Boroughs of
England and Wales, including also other Urban Dis-
tricts having a population of more than 50,000 47

XI. Census (1901) Overcrowding — Rearrangement of the Urban
Districts, named in the previous Table, according to
Intensity of Crowding 49

XII. Census (1901) Overcrowding in the Metropolitan Boroughs

and in the Administrative County of London 60

XIII. The Distribution of Overcrowding among the various

Classes of small Tenements in certain County Boroughs,
1901 62

XIV. The Proportion of Overcrowded Tenements in each class

of small Dwellings (one to four rooms), 1901 63

XV. A Comparison of the Extent of Overcrowding in certain

important Towns for the years 1891 and 1901 66

XVI. Summary Table of Urban Housing and Overcrowding in

England and Wales, 1891 and 1901 to face p. 67

XVII. Census (1901) Overcrowding in the Rural Districts of

certain Counties of England and Wales 72

XVIII. Summary Table of Rural Housing and Overcrowding in

England and Wales, 1891 and 1901 77

XIX. General Summary of Housing and Overcrowding in Eng-
land and Wales, 1891 and 1901 79

XX. List of Housing and related Acts, 1851—1903 89

XXI. List of Urban Sanitary Districts with a Population of not
less than 100,000, and of Parishes or Districts in the
Metropolis, where proceedings were taken under the
Torrens Acts during the period 1883—1888 145

CONTENTS vii.

Page
XXII. Activity of the Metropolitan Board of Works— Cross

Acts 151

XXIII. Improvement Schemes of Provincial Urban Sanitary

Authorities under the Cross Acts, 1875—1885 153

XXIV. The Housing Work of the London Local Government ... 163

XXV. The Housing Work of Organised Private Effort in

London to face p. 166

XXVI. Loans sanctioned by the Local Government Board for the
purposes of the Housing of the Working Classes Act,
1890 172

XXVII. Proceedings outside London taken (under Section 44 —
Part II. of 1890 Act) in regard to Buildings unfit for
human Habitation during the Years specified, and the
Number of Cases in which such Proceedings were taken 186

XXVIII. Summary of House-building by the Co-operative Societies

of Great Britain, up to and including 1902 190

XXIX. Loans sanctioned by the Local Government Board to
Urban Authorities under the Small Dwellings Acquisi-
tion Act, 1899 192

XXX. Advances to private interests by the Public Works Loan
Commissions under the Labouring Classes Dwellings
Acts and Housing of the Working Classes Act (1890) 198

XXXI. Advances to Local Authorities by the Public Works Loan
Commissioners under the Cross Acts and the Housing
of the Working Classes Act (1890) 204

XXXII. Summary Statement of Advances made by the Public
Works Loan Commissioners, 1867 — 1905, under the
Housing Acts and Small Dwellings Acquisition Act ... 206

PART I.

THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRESENT
STATE OF THE HOUSING PROBLEM
OF ENGLAND.

CHAPTER I.

THE ENGLISH HOUSING PROBLEM AXD ITS DEVELOPMENT.

In 1750, just prior to the commencement of that period
generally known as the Industrial Revolution, the popula-
tion of England and Wales was a trifle over six millions ;*
by 1901, it had increased to thirty two and a half millions.2
At the earlier date probably more than one half of the
population was rural; at the beginning of the twentieth
century less than one quarter, a proportion continually
diminishing. Thus the past hundred and fifty years have
witnessed not only an enormous growth in numbers but
also an extensive redistribution of the people from country
into town. The statistics of 1901 revealed that forty-
four per cent, of the people lived in towns and cities of
more than fifty thousand inhabitants; and that of the
fourteen and a half millions thus domiciled, more than
one half, forming twenty-four per cent, of the whole
population, lived in large cities of two hundred and fifty
thousand inhabitants and upwards. The statistics of the
last censal decade still further emphasize this tendency

1. Preface to Census Returns, 1831.

2. Census Returns, 1901.

4 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

towards town concentration,1 for while the population of
the urban sanitary districts increased 15*22 per cent, from
1891 to 1901, that of the rural sanitary districts increased
only 2'94 per cent.2 A comprehensive idea of the present
distribution of the population of England and Wales
and its movements during the decade ending with the
census of 1901 may be obtained from the following table :

1. For some general observations upon this movement in the decade
1881 — 91, see Professor Flux's article on " Internal Migration in England
and Wales, 1881—91," Economic Journal, June, 1900. The following is
extracted therefrom : —

". . . the registration districts showing absorption are relatively few.
In number they are only about one-fifth of the registration districts of the
country. In point of population they include some 10,000,000 out of
a total mean population of approximately 27,500,000. It is clear,
therefore, that they include a considerable proportion of the districts
of large population. Thus the crowding into the cities is illustrated.

" The 94 districts in which, for one or both sexes, the emigration
exceeded 17'5 per cent, of the mean population, included a population
of only about 2,000,000, and over one-fourth of these were in seven
London districts. Besides these seven, only ten of this group had a
mean population in excess of 25,000, while 26 of them fell short of
10,000. Clearly, we are here dealing very largely with country dis-
tricts, and moreover with the vexed question of rural depopulation."

2. However, many of the technically urban districts are rural in
character, and if all urban districts, with population below 5,000 in 1901,
be grouped with the rural districts, the percentage of increase for the
latter shows a little better — viz., 15'7 per cent, for urban and 3'5 per
cent, for rural. See 1901 Census Returns, General Eeport, page 24.

lO <M

— £-»

I-H

CD <M

g C (M CO

II £

I-H

I-H
1

<M OS

2. t- OO
8 ^ ^

I-H

»o

CD C3

§ - i— r

co"

OS 00

«"S os

c?5

OS 10

!l s 2

oo <^

I-H

ob os

i-H

oS «.

05
00

js c c<r

« o

co"

i-H

5 - ^H ^

g lls - S

OS CO
t— CD

flj

§ fi§l os"

•S * o S o

P aw ^

•s ^ °°

.25 gq _

co"

I-H

<fq cb

i-H r-H

1 |so- ^ S

t—

<M 00

t^ oo

•«<

fl 58§ oT

OS OS

°_s •— •

S1-1 oo^

«-

I-H

•**3

— '

5 . <M O

I-H

i-H

,-H 0

os <M

gi" os

I-H

I?- O

I-H

— ^

co"

•rt "*~ C^
C 03* OS O

T^ 1-H

PULATK

<a*o ^H

11 S
ip S-

I-H

<M <M

se figures, '
is one distri

<M t^

C ^ ^

CD
(M

OS O

1^3

I-H

4in b-

P ^

[

^s .2

10"

"o a
co

co oo

# ^-

"3 i—l

p oa

oo"

« 0

o <^i

(?q (M

*•

oi :

2 o

3 :

+Z*

g os

•H ^

I-H

^ r-4

^i i

1 s

o ^

0
OS

I-H

Q OS

•^ oo

I-H

<~~ -

0 rf

° §

O -M

§)*•§

*-i *J3

O "S

r^ ,3

02 O

gU Q

£ s

S 0^

52; PM

0 P-i

1. A regrouping (with some additional details) of tables appearing on
pages xi. — xii. of the Preliminary Report of the Census, 1901.

6 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

The table is self-explanatory, but attention may be
called to the conspicuous increase in the population of
towns with from 100,000 to 250,000 inhabitants, and also
to the fact that, for urban districts of not less than 10,000
inhabitants, the increase in population during the decade
amounted to 18'77 per cent., which should be compared
with the 12'15 per cent, for the country at large.

Corroborative evidence as to the general trend of popula-
tion towards urban centres is to be found in the census
statistics showing the increase or decrease in the various
counties, from which one finds that, as a general thing,
during the decade 1891-1901, the purely agricultural or
pastoral counties show either a smaller percentage of in-
crease than the industrial and commercial counties or an
actual decrease. The conspicuous exceptions provided by
such counties as Essex and Kent arise from their prox-
imity to London. The way in which the agricultural and
pastoral counties group together in the latter (and larger)
half of the subsequent table cannot fail to strike the
attention.

TABLE II.
GROWTH OF POPULATION IN THE GEOGRAPHICAL COUNTIES

OF EXGLAXD AND WALES, 1891— 1901. l

Increase. Per Cent.

Essex 38'2

Glamorgan 25*1

Northumberland 19' 1

Kent 18-3

Worcester 18'0

Derbyshire 17*5

Durham 16*8

Leicestershire 16' 2

Surrey 16'0

Monmouthshire 15*8

Hampshire 15*7

Nottinghamshire 15'4

1. From Preliminary Report, Census, 1901.

ITS DEVELOPMENT

TABLE II.— continued.

Staffordshire 13'9

Hertfordshire 137

Yorkshire, W. Riding 12'6

Lancashire 12*2

Northamptonshire 11'9

Cheshire 11'6

Warwickshire 11'5

Middlesex 10'3

Denbighshire 10'2

Sussex 9-9

Yorkshire, N. Riding 9'1

Yorkshire, E. Riding 8'9

Carnarvonshire 7'3

Berkshire 6'8

Radnorshire 6'8

Bedfordshire 6'6

Gloucestershire 5'8

Flintshire 5*8

Buckinghamshire 5*5

Lincolnshire 5'5

Brecknockshire 5'0

Somersetshire 4*9

Devonshire 4' 5

Dorsetshire 4'3

Carmarthenshire 3'6

Suffolk 3'5

Wiltshire 3'3

Shropshire 1*3

Norfolk 1-2

Anglesey TO

Cambridgeshire 0'9

Cumberland O'l

Cornwall O'l

Huntingdonshire 0'02

Decrease.

Merionethshire 0'2

Pembrokeshire 0'4

Herefordshire 1'3

Oxfordshire T6

Westmoreland 2'7

Cardiganshire 3'8

Rutland 4'6

Montgomeryshire 5'4

8 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

When the rural districts of each, administrative county
are grouped separately from the urban districts, the ex-
tent of the migratory movement, to which reference has
been made, is still more striking. In twenty-seven out of
fifty-four administrative counties 1 the grouped rural
districts showed an actual decrease of population from
1891-1901, varying from '05 per cent, to 7'93 per cent.
The details appear in the following table.

TABLE III.

DECREASE OF POPULATION IN THE RURAL AREAS OF THE

ADMINISTRATIVE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES,
1891 — 1901. Percentage of
County. Decrease.

Cardiganshire 7'93

Oxfordshire 7'54

Montgomeryshire 7"53

Dorsetshire 7'26

Cumberland 5'32

Devonshire 5*22

Bedfordshire 5'21

Westmoreland 5' 11

Suffolk (E. & W.) 4-83

Rutlandshire 4' 60

Lincolnshire 4' 54

Yorkshire, N. Riding 4'04

Pembrokeshire 4'00

Cambridgeshire 3" 62

Norfolk 3-61

Yorkshire, E. Riding 3'49

Herefordshire 3'42

Anglesey 3*07

Merionethshire 2'97

Wiltshire 2- 84

Somersetshire 1"90

Cornwall 1'90

Northamptonshire 1*87

Huntingdonshire 1'47

Shropshire 1*07

Monmouthshire 0*41

Berkshire 0'05

1. The administrative divisions of East and West Suffolk, and of
Lincolnshire, are classed together in this statement : the three Ridings
of Yorkshire are counted separately.

ITS DEVELOPMENT 9

In twelve other counties, the increase of population in
the rural districts failed to reach five per cent. l In only
six administrative counties did the rural districts show
an increase during the decade equal to or greater than the
average increase for the county at large (12'17 per cent.),
these heing Middlesex (23'52 per cent, increase), Surrey
(20'42 per cent.), Derbyshire (19-30 per cent.), Glamorgan-
shire (IS'Ol per cent.), West Eiding of Yorkshire (15'42
per cent.), and Durham (12"66 per cent.).2

Xo doubt the course of economic progress, without the
stimulus of the wonderful inventions of the latter part of
the 18th century, would have brought with it the same
tendencies; the increase of population, especially in the
North of England and in the Midlands, during the former
half of that century, is sufficient proof of this. But the
new conditions immensely accelerated the movement, with
the result that a radical alteration in the every day life
of working England took place, an alteration to which the
description of ' revolution ' is appropriate, inasmuch as
a few years witnessed changes which, under other cir-
cumstances, a century might not have seen. Even as late
as 1750 to 1770, agriculture was predominant in this
country, but, by the end of the century, this was no longer
so, and it was evident that the basis of England's future
material prosperity lay in her towns and manufactures.
Henceforth, there arose a sharp division between the towns
and manufacturing on the one hand and the country and
agriculture on the other, which had not been noticeable
previously.

1. These counties were Northumberland (4'92 per cent, increase),
Carmarthenshire (3'94 %), Carnarvonshire (3'67 %), Essex (3'40), Kent
3'28 %), Flintshire (2'42 %), Hertfordshire (2'35 %), Radnorshire
(2-10 %), Buckingham (1'53 %), Sussex (T45 %), Cheshire (1'15 %), and
Gloucestershire (0'83 %).

2. For above figures see Census Returns, 1901: General Report, p. 24.

10 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Prior to the period, of the Industrial Revolution, manu-
facturing had been disseminated more or less throughout
the country, and had stood in close relationship to agri-
culture. The great manufacturing industry was in wool-
lens and the method of its organisation was essentially
domestic. There were, it is true, a few factories of the
later type, places where a considerable number of workmen
were employed under one master, but, as a general rule,
the home, with its group of family workers, in some cases
augmented by two or three journeymen and apprentices,
was the centre of industrial activity. Thousands of such
homes were scattered through the rural districts where
the work of the shuttle and the loom was combined with
the cultivation of a good sized allotment, or with the keep-
ing of cows, pigs, and poultry. And, as appears from the
the pages of Defoe's ' Tour through Great Britain,' this
connection was preserved to some extent even in the
busiest manufacturing districts. Referring to the country
round Halifax, Defoe wrote : " The land was divided into
small Enclosures from two Acres to six or seven each,
seldom more, every three or four Pieces of land had an
House belonging to them .... hardly an House standing
out of a speaking distance from another; .... We
could see at every house a Tenter, and on almost every
Tenter a piece of Cloth or Kersie or Shalloon. ... At
every considerable house was a manufactory. . . . Every
clothier keeps one horse, at least, to carry his Manufac-
tures to the Market ; and every one, generally, keeps a
Cow or two or more for his Eamily. By this means the
small Pieces of enclosed land about each house are occu-
pied, for they scarce sow Corn enough to feed their Poultry
.... The houses are full of lusty Fellows, some at the
Dye-vat, some at the looms, others dressing the Cloths;
the women and children carding or spinning; being all

ITS DEVELOPMENT n

employed from the youngest to the oldest." ] Just as the
weaver, or other industrial worker, often added agricul-
ture to his main employment, the agricultural labourer
frequently combined manufacture with his, especially
those varieties which could be carried on by the women
folk of the household while he was in the fields. Even in
the towns it was not uncommon for the worker to possess
a plot of land, the produce of which supplemented his
earnings at the loom.

Under this domestic system of industry there was not
the same tendency towards the crowding of manufacturing
industry and its workers into towns as in later days. This
is not to say that the housing conditions of the working
population resident in the towns were satisfactory. As
a matter of fact the urban housing situation never has been
so. In proportion to the size of the towns overcrowding
and insanitation were as extensive in the early Georgian
period as they are to-day. Bad. housing conditions flour-
ished but, in the mind of the general public, they hardly
constituted a problem — the standard of living in house
accommodation was decidedly lower than that of a couple
of centuries later. It was only when the factory invasion
of the towns, bringing to them in its wake a rapidly in-
creasing working-class population, made the dangers of
insanitary housing and insanitary modes of living obvious
even to the undiscerning mind that it began to be gener-
ally realized that evils of this kind, would not rectify
themselves, and consequently needed the careful applica-
tion of remedial measures. As to housing conditions in
rural districts, the same lack of supervision of sanitary
construction and arrangement rendered many houses and
cottages undesirable places for habitation. Then as now,
many country cottages must have been crowded to excess,
1. Defoe's Tour, iii., pp. 144 — 146.

12 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

but the proximity of open fields, purity of atmosphere, and
the outdoor employment of rural workers were powerful
checks to the evil influence of such overcrowding upon the
health and vigour of the people. To a certain extent the
same may be said of town life prior to the urbanisation
of manufacturing industry : the comparatively small areas
covered by the town buildings, the absence of factory chim-
neys pouring their sooty and poisonous products into the
air, the accessibility of the open fields; all these things,
while not atoning for insanitary and overcrowded con-
ditions of living, must have mitigated their evil effect to
an appreciable extent. The overcrowded house surrounded
by a few hundred or even thousand other dwellings, and
but a few minutes from the open fields is a less serious
problem than a similar house in the midst of a wilderness
of brick, stone, and mortar, miles away from the re-
freshening and recuperating breezes of the country-side.
This feature — the nature of the environment — marks
the essential difference between the urban housing
problem of the early 18th century and that of the
early 20th century. In the case of London, an important
and large commercial centre two centuries ago, the con-
trast is less vivid though not altogether absent. But that
city has been for centuries the concentration point of
England and the recipient of a constant stream of migra-
tion, so that the housing difficulties were developed on an
extensive scale at an early date.

After the middle of the eighteenth century, a notable
series of inventions, applied first to the cotton and, later,
to the woollen industries, altered the conditions of produc-
tion. In the beginning, the domestic system was not
seriously disturbed; in fact, the earlier inventions were
applicable to hand power machines, but, ultimately, a
general movement into factories arose. These factories,

ITS DEVELOPMENT 13

however, did not specially seek urban centres but rather
the river sides where water power was available, and, con-
sequently, did not cause any markedly increased pressure
of overcrowding in the towns though it is probable that
in many cases the cottages surrounding these rural fac-
tories were badly and insanitarily constructed, and con-
tained not a little overcrowding. As steam was gradually
substituted for water power, there was no longer any
economic reason for the previous diffusion. Then may
be said to have commenced the Factory system of modern
times : the old domestic system received its death blow,
and agriculture and manufacture, long in joint partner-
ship, were rudely rent asunder. To meet the rapidly in-
creasing demand of the markets of the world and to avail
themselves of all the advantages that the application of
steam power offered, masters did not hesitate to gather
round them great masses of workpeople, whose whole work-
ing time was now passed within the walls of their factories.
The economy and convenience of this system to the em-
ployers brought about its universal adoption. As the
factories required an adequate and accessible supply of
labour and a convenient situation for distribution if they
were to cope adequately with the increasing demand, they
were established, of necessity, in suitably located towns,
where now sprang up, in consequence, an extensive demand
for labour of all kinds. So the natural increase of the
population of such places was augmented by a constant
stream of immigration from the country districts. Many
small country towns became thickly populated, cities. The
early hours at which it was requisite for the workers to
begin their daily toil, combined with the absence of facili-
ties of communications, compelled them to reside as near
the factories as possible ; an excessive demand for the house
accommodation of certain areas arose — overcrowding of

14 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

individuals and of houses (overhousing) developed apace.
Houses intended for one family each were made to accom-
modate several, and every available plot of land was built
upon without regard to ventilation or any other sanitary
condition; dwellings were almost literally piled one upon
the top of the other, and many of the grim, narrow, and
hardly-ventilated streets and. dark, noisome alleys of the
present day owe their origin to the unregulated building
of this period.

Thus the rapid development of the new industrial system,
causing both a growth and a redistribution of population,
and producing new social conditions which an immature
municipal government and an undeveloped public con-
science failed to order and arrange with a view to the
ultimate welfare of the people, accentuated to a marked
degree the unsatisfactory housing conditions already ex-
isting in the towns. Its influence in this direction, indeed,
was probably more effective than the preceding analysis
has revealed. Under the domestic system, industry, though
limited, was comparatively steady, and the association of
its two great branches — agriculture and manufacture —
helped to secure a fairly regular income for the working
family. The development of the factory system, however,
bringing with it production for a wider but a more un-
certain market, resulted in considerable fluctuation of
manufacturing activity and more or less irregularity of
employment, according to the branch of trade concerned.
Also the rapid urbanisation of the woollen industry drew
to the larger centres crowds of hand workers, some of whom
found themselves displaced from continuous labour by the
new system of factory production with its unfamiliar
machinery — rather by reason of their own inability to adapt
themselves to strange conditions, perhaps, than that there
was no demand for their help. These and other causes

ITS DEVELOPMENT 15

stimulated the growth of a considerable body of casually
employed labour, grouping around the central areas of
urban districts, hopeful, at first, no doubt, of ultimately
securing that permanent employment for which the major-
ity of them had migrated from their country homes. Un-
fortunately, an increase in the cost of living, due to the
co-operation of natural and artificial causes, made the
struggle for existence of this class of workers more arduous
and discouraging, and it is not surprising, especially when
it is considered that a certain proportion owed their mis-
fortune to theilr own carelessness and foolishness, that
among them a fatal spirit of indifference was not altogether
uncommon, under the influence of which moral self re-
straint and thrift were disregarded. A reckless increase
of numbers followed, encouraged officially by the mistaken
charity of the old poor law administration. At the same
time, the more fortunate section of the working classes,
under the stimulus of a prosperity strong enough to with-
stand the adverse influences of wars, bad harvests, and
high tariffs and taxes, was also increasing its numbers
at a rapid rate, and it is not difficult to understand why
the growth and development of manufacturing, great as
it was, proved insufficient to provide regular employment
for all. As is usually the case in the affairs of mankind,
the weaker, that is to say, the (industrially) less important
group, suffered. The increase of its numbers prevented
the extension of industry from removing the mischief
which the temporary disorganisation had produced, and,
instead, secured a maintenance of evil conditions, which
favoured its physical, mental, and moral deterioration.
Hence was perpetuated a large group of labour, mainly
unskilled, in the modern sense of the word, which was
considerably in excess of the market demand, and was
therefore condemned by the very preponderance of its

16 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

supply, not only to a minimum wage, a wage, that is to
say, little, if any, above the subsistence level, but also,
so far as a large section was concerned, to an irregular and
uncertain wage. The last generation may have witnessed
some amelioration of these conditions, but, even to-day,
the unskilled labour market is characterised by great un-
certainty and irregularity of employment. The very progress
of sanitary reform has acted, in one respect, adversely to
the economic interests of this class of labour in that it has
kept alive many who are unfit, to use Professor Marshall's
words,1 for any but the lowest grade of work, and the
added competition of these, ready to accept the lowest
possible remuneration, cannot but have increased the un-
steadiness of the unskilled labour market. Morally un-
healthy environments, as already pointed out, have had
their influence also. The character of not a few has been
so weakened by the evil experiences of some three genera-
tions that, self-respect and independence of spirit gone,
they are absolutely disinclined for regular employment, if
they could obtain it. There is no doubt some truth in the
argument that the bad housing of the poorer classes is
the result of bad living, for in numerous cases the pro-
portion of earnings devoted to the necessaries of life is
reduced to a minimum, and the remainder spent in dis-
sipation, or, at any rate, in undesirable ways : careful
management and thrift might make much more effective
use of irregular earnings than is actually the case. Still
it would be unjust to ignore the underlying forces con-
ducing to this bad living. Irregularity of work often
favours irregularity of conduct, and the deterioration of
character which is promoted by the despair of poverty, and
by the squalidness of its surroundings, acts, of course, in

1. Principles of Economics, p. 590, 2nd Ed., 1891.

ITS DEVELOPMENT 17

the same direction. Nothing in the economic history of
the past century is more striking than the division of the
working classes into two vividly contrasted groups, both
growing in numbers, but only one making advance in
material prosperity; the other constantly dragged back-
wards by its poverty and the moral degradation resulting
therefrom.

Out of the disturbed industrial conditions, then, that
followed1 the introduction of the factory system, there
issued into prominence, in manufacturing districts, a body
of labour in a state of semi-destitution, clinging desper-
ately to the central portions of the urban areas where the
centralisation of business afforded the best chance of casual
employment. But, in these very localities, the cost of
house accommodation to the tenant was constantly tending
upwards, owing to the demand for houses by the regularly
employed who desired to be near their factories and work-
shops, and to the increasing value of the land for commer-
cial purposes. Given an inefficient local government and
indifferent landlords, serious overcrowding on an extensive
scale was bound to ensue. Just as we have seen that, in
the rapid urban immigration during the period of the
industrial revolution, there was a general cause working
towards overcrowding, so here is to be seen a particular
cause, producing a similar result, though in a more in-
tense and more permanent form.

It is now proper to direct attention to certain special
movements in the industrial and social progress of the
country during the nineteenth century, which tended to
accentuate the evil living conditions of the labouring
classes.

In London, Manchester, and other large towns, colonies
of foreigners (Jews and Italians in particular) of the poor-
est and lowest type established themselves, in the hope of

18 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

benefitting by the country's prosperity, herding together
like cattle without regard to the decencies of living : the
quarters where they settled such as Whitechapel in
London, and the Red Bank and Charter Street area in
Manchester, became and still remain notorious for their
insanitary and overcrowded houses.1 Owners of property
found; it convenient to close their eyes to all but the
handsome revenue they obtained from their unsavoury
tenants, and the municipal authorities, where not apa-
thetic, felt themselves helpless.

Not that these municipal authorities were idle in other
matters; in fact, their very activity in certain directions
was an appreciable factor in the production of overcrowd-
ing. They were anxious to improve the appearance of
their boroughs, to widen their streets, to erect town halls,
police stations, and other municipal buildings : also schools,
libraries, and the like, had to be provided, and, to secure
sites for these, considerable displacements of the poorer
class of people occurred, who were forced back into sur-
rounding neighbourhoods. This of itself would have been
effective in causing overcrowding, but the tendency was
made stronger by the fact that the construction of such
improvements often made their vicinity a more desirable
residential neighbourhood, for various reasons, and hence
increased the rents of the remaining houses. Viewed from
the supply side, displacement decreased the supply of
houses, decrease of supply increased overcrowding; from
the demand side, displacement increased the demand for
houses, the increased demand raised rents, higher rents
increased overcrowding. Ultimately an attempt was made

1. It is proper to note that the statement in the text applies to par-
ticular classes of poor alien immigrants, by no means to all, and, further,
that, even with these, a perceptible improvement in their sanitary
morals has frequently taken place after they have settled down for a
few years amidst their new environments.

ITS DEVELOPMENT 19

to meet this difficulty by insisting that, where persons of
the working class were displaced hy public improvements,
they should be rehoused; but the beneficial effect of this
rehousing was largely neutralised by the lapse of time
between the dishousing and rehousing, often sufficiently
long to enable people to become settled down in the over-
crowded dwellings of the neighbourhood, and reluctant to
again disturb themselves, and also by the fact that, where
the rehousing was carried out in the same neighbourhood,
the new dwellings were more highly rented than those
destroyed, and were generally taken possession of by a
higher grade of tenants.

In large cities, railway improvements have acted in a
precisely similar way — the population displaced under this
head must amount to a very large figure — and yet, previous
to 1885, the companies never seriously attempted to re-
house. Statutory obligations were placed upon them, only
to be evaded; in some cases, they provided the required
accommodation and then proceeded to use it for other pur-
poses. Subsequent to the Royal Commission of 1884, the
Local Government Board and the Home Office enforced
more strictly the fulfilment of rehousing obligations, and
the standing orders of Parliament dealing with this were
revised. A still further revision was recommended by the
Select Committee of 1902 and, as a result, the whole
matter was covered carefully and stringently in the Hous-
ing of the Working Classes Act of 1903. Thus it is not
likely that either railway companies or local authorities
will ever again act as they have done in the past.1 Yet,
since 1885, there has been more than one attempt to evade
responsibilities. For instance, the Model Clause of 1885
required the same number of persons to be rehoused as

1. See reference in chapter vi. to the schedule of 3 Ed. iii. c. 39.1.
Also see Appendix B for text of schedule itself.

20 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

were inhabiting the houses taken by the railway company,
or other body, on the 15th day of December last past on
the passing of the Bill under which improvement powers
were sought. But the Clause had to be amended in 1890
because it was found that certain railway companies made
arrangements for taking the houses before the 15th day of
December, and then had. them cleared of working class
tenants before that date, so that the houses did not come
within the Clause.2 The action of the Great Northern
and City Railway Company, 1898-1902, in connection with
the acquisition of a certain site in Poole Street, Hoxton,
upon which twenty-three working class dwellings were
situated, affords another striking instance. The following
account of the attitude of the railway company was given
before the Joint Select Committee of 1902 by the Town
Clerk of Shoreditch, Dr. H. M. Robinson.

" This Company [G. N. & City Ey. Co.], in the year
1898, promoted a Bill to acquire certain land in Poole
Street, Hoxton, upon which there were 23 houses occupied
by labourers — persons of the labouring class. The Shore-
ditch Yestry at that time petitioned against the Bill, asking
for proper provisions for rehousing the 150 persons who
would have been displaced. The Company, for various
reasons, did not proceed with the Bill, but soon afterwards
arranged with their contractors (Messrs. Pearson and Co.)
to execute the line — practically as undertakers — taking
the contract cost in shares and debentures of the company
which was to be later formed ; and under that arrangement
the contractors acquired part of the scheduled site, which
included these 23 houses occupied by 150 persons (the site
scheduled being much larger) ; they evicted the tenants,

2. See Report of Joint Select Committee, 1902, on Housing of Working
Classes, re South-eastern Eailway Company and eight houses in St.
Mary's Parish, Lambeth, Nos. 25 — 29.

ITS DEVELOPMENT 21

(of whom 150 were of the labouring class) used the vacant
site as a depot for the construction of the railway and the
removal of earth from the tube; and having constructed
the railway (it is nearly finished now), in the present
session of Parliament the Great Northern and City Com-
pany promoted a Bill to acquire this site as a vacant site
for a generating station for their railway ; so that the pro-
visions of the Standing Order N"o. 38 would not apply
to that case. The Borough Council opposed the Bill, and
I brought these facts before the Company, and pointed out
that it was a very plain evasion of the spirit of the Standing
Order, even if it was outside the letter, and they declined to
do anything. We consequently lodged a petition against
the Bill, and appeared by counsel, and they — finding that
we were prepared to fight the matter, and that the member
for Hoxton stated that he would oppose it upon its different
stages in its passage through the House — offered, as a
compromise, to contribute a sum of a thousand pounds
towards the cost of the Borough Council in rehousing the
displaced people in the suburbs; and as they had already
inserted this model clause, as it stands, in their Bill, and
we were not likely to obtain an amendment of that from
the Committee, we thought it the best course to accept that
offer, an offer which, no doubt, they made because it would
probably have cost them that amount to have fought us
through the different stages in both houses ; so they escaped
with a contribution of a thousand pounds ; whereas, if the
Standing Order had been complied with it would have cost
them not less than £5,000 to acquire the land to rehouse
these people in Shoreditch." l

From the evidence given before this Committee, other
cases, equally as striking, might be quoted, but the above

1. Great Northern and City Railway Company and Poole Street,
Hoxton, site, 1902 Select Committee on Housing of the Working Classes,
No. 1157.

22 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

extract sufficiently illustrates the difficulty that there has
been in forcing the railway companies to fulfil their duties
in respect of rehousing.

Some idea of the extent of the dishousing operations of
railway companies and local authorities may be gathered
from the Report of the Joint Select Committee of 1902,
which was appointed to consider the Standing Order
relating to houses occupied by persons of the labouring
classes, and the clauses usually inserted in Private and
Local Bills and Provisional Order Confirmation Bills.
From information supplied to that Committee by the Home
Office and the Local Government Board, it is possible to
ascertain the extent of the dishousing caused by the im-
provements and other operations of such companies and
authorities from 1885 to 1902 (the year of the Report).
It will be understood that these statistics do not relate to
work done by the local authorities under the Housing of
the Working Classes Acts.

ITS DEVELOPMENT 23

TABLE IV.

DlSHOUSING BY RAILWAY COMPANIES AND LOCAL AUTHORI-
TIES UNDER PRIVATE AND LOCAL ACTS, 1885 — 1902.

COUNTRY.

1886
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
189T
1898
1899
1900

1901
1902

Number of Persons of the W<
displaced by

Railway Companies. Locs

Diking Classes

il Authorities.
109

163

829
1484
175
164
939

1458
684
924

927
1169

222

457

452 ...

598

2706

. ... 928

875

3086

977

3620

443

2162

169

(Including a Gas Company, 75).

2550

(Including Manchester Ship Canal, 77).

917

(to May)
Totals 1886— 1902 20,162 9,025

LONDON
1885—1900 About 19,990 About 25,000

(Under Acts of
1877 to 1900.)

24 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Of course, this dispensing, occurring since 1885, has
been accompanied by a simultaneous rehousing, new ac-
commodation having been provided for nearly 22,000 out
of the 29,000 displaced in the country and for about 38,000
out of the 45,000 displaced in London, but the figures assist
one in forming a rough notion of the amount of dishousing
(without rehousing) likely to have been brought about in
these ways, prior to 1885.

There are no reliable statistics as to the amount of over-
crowding caused by improvements of private property, for
the purposes of which the owners have cleared away exist-
ing houses, erecting upon their sites a superior class of
dwelling or some other kind of building, but both this and
the displacement of working class accommodation by the
extension and erection of warehouses, manufactories, and
other industrial and commercial establishments, must be
taken into account.

Out of such movements, the housing of the present day
has grown with its overcrowding, its overhousing, and its
insanitary conditions of living. In the previous pages,
emphasis has been laid upon the first and second points,
but the third is no less important. As a matter of fact,
overcrowding and overhousing are directly and indirectly
productive of insanitary conditions, making disease less
preventable as well as generally lowering the physical
health and vigour of those who live, voluntarily or in-
voluntarily, amid such environments. The evil effects are
cumulative, each succeeding generation starts with an
already enfeebled constitution, to the economic loss of the
nation. Overcrowding, of itself, is a constant menace to
the physical welfare of the people, but its dangers are
materially increased by the wretched condition into which
the habitations of the poorer classes, especially tenement
houses, are often allowed to lapse. The requirements of

ITS DEVELOPMENT 25

drainage and ventilation are frequently grossly neglected,
water provision is often deficient, closet accommodation
scandalously small, windows and doors broken, walls and
ceilings and, in the basement, the floors, rotting with damp.
Defective ash-pit accommodation has proved an incentive
— not always needed — to the accumulation of fever-breed-
ing dirt and refuse in the passages and unoccupied corners
of the houses. Unfortunately, numbers of the people
living in the neighbourhoods where sanitary reform is most
urgently required have no conception of the morality of
cleanliness, and, consequently, improvement is impossible
except by the exercise of strict supervision and the applica-
tion of compulsion. The necessity of such supervision and
compulsion is borne out by more than one fact. In an
investigation conducted some years ago, Dr. Tatham, then
Medical Officer of Health of the City of Manchester, found
that, during the period 1881-90, in the central township
of that city, an area notorious for the prevalence of over-
crowding, 35' 67 per cent, of children born died, under five
years of age, whereas, for the whole of England and Wales,
the percentage was only 23'26. The infant mortality of
London for the ten years 1891-1900 affords further proof
of the havoc worked by overcrowded urban conditions of
living. During that period, the death rate per 1,000 of
infants under one year of age was 142 in districts with
under 10 per cent, of overcrowding; 180 in districts with
10 to 15 per cent; 196 in districts with 15 to 20 per cent.;
193 in districts with 20 to 25 per cent. ; 210 in districts
with 25 to 30 per cent. ; 222 in districts with 30 to 35
per cent. ; 223 in districts with more than 35 per cent.1
In several of his annual reports, Sir Shirley F. Murphy,

1. See page 36 of Sir Shirley F. Murphy's Presidential Address at the
Jubilee Meeting of the Incorporated Society of Medical Officers of
Health, 1906. Reported in Public Health, Jubilee Number, 1906.

26 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

the Medical Officer of Health for London, has included
tables showing the relation between overcrowding and the
general and phthisis death rates. Table V. gives the most
important of these statistics for my present purpose, and
it will be readily seen how strongly they clinch the evidence
of the figures quoted above.

TABLE Y.1

OVERCROWDING AND THE DEATH-RATES — ADMINISTRATIVE
COUNTY OF LONDON.

Proportion of total population Death Rates Death Rates

living more than two in a room. per 1000 living. per 1000 living.

(In tenements of less than five rooms). All Causes. Phthisis.

% 1899. 1901. 1899. 1901.

Districts with under 10% 15'22 14'5 118 T26

„ 10 to 15% 1713 16'2 1-52 T52

„ 15 to 20% 19-13 18-1 1-68 T64

„ 20 to 25% 20*49 19'0 2'00 2'06

„ 25 to 30% 20-48 20'9 2'13 2'2T

„ 30&upwards% 24'OT 21' 0 2'61 213

That, in London, the state of overcrowding markedly
affects the death rate is clearly proved by the table, and
it may be taken for granted that, in this respect, there
is no difference between London and other urban centres.
Sir Shirley, in his report for the year 1899, expresses the
matter concisely :".... mortality from all causes, from
phthisis and from all causes other than phthisis, increases
with overcrowding, and .... the maximum increase from
diseases other than phthisis occurs somewhat earlier in
life than the maximum increase from phthisis; .... it
must be recollected that the population which is badly
housed suffers from other consequences of poverty than
insufficiency of dwelling accommodation. But, however
much these other conditions may contribute to the pro-

1. Tables giving the average rate for 1901 — 4 will be found on pages
36-7 of the Address referred to in the preceding note. Similar results
are shown.

ITS DEVELOPMENT 27

duction of phthisis, there is ample reason for thinking
that the dwelling itself and the manner in which it is
occupied are important factors in determining the pre-
valence of this disease. It is interesting to consider in
this connection the measures which are now in the main
relied upon for the cure of phthisis. They consist in the
placing of the patient by night and by day under conditions
which are mostly widely different from, and indeed are
directly opposed to, those which obtain in the overcrowded
tenement. In so far as these measures are successful in
effecting the cure of phthisis, the overcrowded dwelling
must be deemed to promote the disease, and hence the
effects of overcrowding upon phthisis mortality may be
understood."

The result of the enquiry, made by the old Metropolitan
Board of Health, to the effect that, in the low parts of
London, every workman and workwoman lost an average
of at least twenty days per annum from simple exhaustion,
as apart from sickness, was accepted by the Hoyal Com-
mission in 1884 as probably an underestimate of the loss
so incurred at the later date of their report. But during
the last twenty years, sanitary administration, though yet
far from what it might be, has much improved, and there-
fore it is not unlikely that a renewed inquiry would find it
necessary to diminish the estimate. Whether, in any
case, much reliance can be placed upon the results of such
an investigation is a matter of opinion. Sometimes sheer
exhaustion may be another form of idleness, or may be
largely due to the effects of immoral or dissipated habits
of life, and the great difficulty of distinguishing this kind
of exhaustion from that which is the result of insanitary
and overcrowded residential conditions may vitiate, to some
extent, the value of the statistics presented. However,
if the statement may be accepted as only an approximate

28 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

equivalent of the truth, it is an important verification of
the reality of the economic loss to which reference has
been made previously.

Forty years ago, some of the worst breaches of sanitary
law were to be found in the cellar dwellings, but, thanks
to the prohibition of the London Health Act of 1891 and
to the strict regulation of the general Health Act of 1875,
such dwellings are now not so common. In some towns,
however, they are far more conspicuous than is desirable,
Stockport and Liverpool being often quoted examples —
in the latter city, it is stated, more than ten thousand
persons reside in them. Under the strictest regulation,
cellar rooms are not fit for separate human habitation,
and can only serve to injure the physical welfare of their
inmates.

Adequate ventilation is an absolute necessity in all houses,
but seems unattainable in that class of dwelling known
as ' back-to-back.' In such houses, an efficient system of
through ventilation is wanting. The Royal Commission
of 1884 included among their recommendations one to the
effect that a certain proportionate extent of space should
be provided at the back of every new dwelling house, free
from any buildings thereupon, and that it should belong
exclusively to such house : evidently, the importance of
through ventilation was appreciated. Dr. Tatham's Re-
ports to the Manchester Corporation upon back-to-back
dwellings (1891-2) afford a fund of interesting information
into which limitation of space will not allow me to enter,
but it may be noted that the evidence collected distinctly
established their unhealthiness as compared with through
dwellings, and the following table may be extracted from
his provisional report of 1891 as a speaking testimony to
this fact. The groups of houses selected were carefully
chosen so as to represent similar sanitary conditions.

ITS DEVELOPMENT 29

TABLE VI.

ANNUAL DEATH-RATE PER 1,000 DURING FIVE YEARS IN
BACK-TO-BACK HOUSES, MANCHESTER.

Percentage of Deaths from

Percentage of Common Other

Total back-to-back All Infectious Con- Lung Diarr-

Groups.
I.

Population.

8,713

bouses.

Causes.

27-5

Diseases.

4'5

sumption.

2'8

Dis<

jases.

•6

hcea.

1-4

II.

11,749

•2

4-8

3'3

•8

•6

III.

11,405

•5

6-2

•9

•1

IV.

892

100

•4

8-7

•4

The Barry and Gordon Report of 1888, made to the
Local Government Board, also condemns this kind of
building, and points out that, where through ventilation
is absent, zymotic diseases generally thrive. Generally
speaking, present municipal policy recognises the force
of these inquiries by declaring against the further con-
struction of back-to-back houses, but, in some towns,
Leeds for instance, an entirely opposite stand is taken,
with the result that, in this particular city, nearly all the
houses, built by private capital for working class tenants,
are constructed in this style. Presumably, such houses
are cheaper to build in that less ground space is required
and that some saving, probably small, is made on the
actual building. But economy at the risk of health is
poor policy. Newly built, the houses may look attractive,
and most of the Leeds houses recently built do, but the
question is what will be their condition after say fifty
years of heavy wear and tear? There is more than a
probability that the conclusions of the Manchester Reports
will be re-justified.

The importance of the sanitary aspect of the housing

30 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

problem really demands more consideration than the pre-
vious pages have been able to afford, but sufficient has been
said, perhaps, to give prominence to its main features.
The words of Lord Beaconsfield, uttered over a quarter
of a century ago (1877), are significant to-day: "The
health of the people is really the foundation upon which
all their happiness and all their powers as a state depend.
It is quite possible for a kingdom to be inhabited by an
able, active population; you may have skilled manufac-
turers, and you may have a productive agriculture : the
arts may flourish, architecture may cover your lands with
temples and palaces, you may have even material power to
defend and support all these acquisitions; you may have
arms of precision and fleets of torpedoes, but if the popu-
lation of that country is stationary or yearly diminishes,
if while it diminishes in number it diminishes also in
stature and strength, that country is ultimately doomed."
Attention in this chapter has naturally been centred
upon the towns, where the conditions of living are most
-congested and most unhealthy. Because of this, it must
not be supposed that the villages and rural areas are free
from the evils already described. Overhousing is not com-
mon, but overcrowding and insanitation may be more fre-
quently met with than our ideals of country life would
lead us to expect. In fact, certain rural districts rival the
towns in intensity of overcrowding, as statistics, to be
produced in the next chapter, will establish. But taking
the country as a whole, the most crying evil in rural
housing matters is the insanitary condition of cottage
property. " The Villages," says the author of a recent
work, " we were wont to regard as the springs of life-
giving health are too often the centres around which gather
the elements of disease and death. Indeed, the evil of
insanitation in the cottage homes which do remain has

ITS DEVELOPMENT 31

re-acted with terrible effect on rural industry. During
1897 a London association conducted a systematic inquiry
in seventy-eight villages, having 4,179 cottages. Of these
nearly one quarter were in such a state as to be described
as "bad" or "extremely bad." Sixty per cent, had no
fireplaces in any bedroom, and therefore could have no
proper and necessary ventilation. In fifteen per cent,
the water supply was either very bad, or there was none.
Another inquiry extended over 240 villages and about
10,000 dwellings. In half of these villages the cottages
were " bad," and in some thirty villages there were cases
of gross overcrowding." l

The unprosperous state of English agriculture during
the past generation partly accounts for the existence of
these conditions. Prior to the Seventies, English farmers
were doing well, but a series of disastrous harvests, com-
mencing in 1875, threw them into great distress. Their
previous prosperity had been accompanied by a rapid in-
crease in rents, the burden of which was now felt, as the
process of reduction is always a tardy one, landowners
being more than reluctant to lose any portion of their
income. The cost of labour, which was also beginning
to increase, added another burden, so that the outlook
was not a bright one for the farmers. Still, these diffi-
culties might not have proved insuperable if a still more
serious one, so far as permanent effects were concerned,
had not presented itself about the same time, in the shape
of a keen foreign competition. Increasing quantities of
foreign grain and (later) of cattle and meat began to be
placed every year upon the home market, and prices steadily
fell. Such an unfortunate combination of events brought
about a grave decline in agricultural prosperity, whereby

1. W. Crotch, The Cottage Homes of England.

32 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

both farmers and landowners, in so far as the land of the
latter was devoted to agriculture, suffered considerably.
Sir James Caird, in his evidence before the Commission
on Depression of Trade (1886), estimated that, from 1876
to 1886, landlords and tenants lost £20,000,000 in the
annual income of each. Financially crippled, and with
gloomy prospects ahead, neither farmers nor landowners
were likely to incur expenditure upon the extension or
improvement of the housing accommodation of the
labourers situated upon their farms or estates, and the
wages of the labourers, though higher than they had been
in the middle of the century, were too low to enable them
to offer a rent sufficient to stimulate private enterprise in
the direction of house building. Thus, though the rural
population was generally increasing (slowly it is true),
in spite of loss to migration to the towns, there was little
tendency towards a corresponding increase of house accom-
modation. In some cases, cottages actually had to be
abandoned as uninhabitable on account of the state of
disrepair into which they fell : landlords, in fact, were
loth to undertake the remedy of even the most glaring
defects. Accordingly, the twin evils of insanitation and
overcrowding steadily grew in seriousness, especially in
those districts where the landowners had least interest in
and sympathy with the individual welfare of their tenants,
and if it had not been for the constant stream of country
labour towards the towns, rural housing conditions would
inevitably have become more distressing than they did.

That agricultural depression still continues is evident to
all. The (agricultural) landlord has had to face a con-
siderable reduction in rent, the farmer, with a great por-
tion of his capital lost and with low prices controlling the
markets, has shown little sign of regaining his former
prosperity ; in any case, his unprogressiveness and apparent

ITS DEVELOPMENT 33

lack of adaptability form in themselves a formidable ob-
stacle. The agricultural labourer, however, has gained
from the migration of his neighbours into the cities, for
the diminution in the supply of labour has brought about
an increase in his wages, so that, so far as remuneration
is concerned, he has made substantial progress. But even
now his purse cannot afford to part with much in the form
of rent; hence, he cannot call into active play the forces
that would secure for him an appreciable improvement in
his housing accommodation, and, as I have already pointed
out, the unprosperous condition of his masters is almost
prohibitive of any help from that source. Hence, the
stagnation of rural house building still exists, and with
it the evils named. Of course, all parts of rural England
have not suffered the same economic loss. Districts where
a considerable amount of dairy-farming has been added to
tillage are frequently quite prosperous, the prosperity
being partly reflected in the social condition of the
labourer. In some localities, industrial development has
acted similarly, more than atoning for the depression in
farming, though, in so far as the opening up of rural
mining or manufacturing industries centralises the popu-
lation, it tends to raise the degree of overcrowding. In
some few spots, philanthropic action has been influential
in the direction of improvement. Thus, we may expect
to find that rural housing conditions vary, to some extent,
with the area, but, as indicated, in a great number of cases
they are far from being satisfactory. A succeeding chapter
will present some recent statistics bearing upon the extent
of rural overcrowding.

If the foregoing pages have been effective in calling
attention to the deep seated economic movements which

34 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

lie at the root of the housing question, they will not have
been written in vain. Studied in this way, the complexity
of the problem and the great care its solution necessitates
are firmly impressed upon the mind, but, before an adequate
conception of its real nature can be gained, a more detailed
inquiry into present conditions is desirable, and, indeed,
necessary; to this, the next two chapters will be devoted.

CHAPTER II.

OVERHOUSING.

The solution of the housing question involves the
remedying of three evils, insanitation, overhousing, and
overcrowding. The first has heen briefly described, and
attention must now be given to the other two — in the
present chapter, to overhousing in particular. Frequent
description has made familiar the moral and physical
degradation resulting from overcrowding, but compara-
tively little has been said about overhousing, and yet its
evil effects upon town life are anything but negligible.
Where houses are packed together with excessive closeness,
ventilation and sanitation are sure to suffer, and therefore
the health of their inmates, this quite aside from the over-
crowding of the individual tenements. The two, it is
hardly necessary to observe, are often found together.
The combined forces of natural increase and rural immi-
gration steadily continue, decade after decade, to settle
more and more people upon each acre of urban land, and
every year the problem becomes more pressing. It is only
in central districts, such as the City of London and its
adjacent boroughs, in the interior areas of the larger
cities,1 and in two or three towns with a stationary or

1. As the following cases establish : —

Sub-District Population Population.

Registration District or Parish. 1891. 1901.

Manchester ... Ancoats ... 45,982 ... 44,040

Manchester ... St. George ... 61,058 ... 58,264

Salford ... Greengate ... 37,923 ... 33,855

Liverpool ... St. Martin ... 53,713 ... 52,966

Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Westgate ... 30,264 ... 30,116

36 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

declining population, that any exception to this movement
is to be noticed. The decrease of population in the
central areas of growing towns is caused by the increasing
demands of factories, warehouses, shops, offices, railway
terminals, municipal buildings, and the like, for building
sites and the consequent appropriation of dwelling house
sites for the same; but this decrease is more than com-
pensated by the increase in the outer parts of the cities.
London affords a striking illustration of this process.
Within the limits of the City of London and eight other
central registration districts, Westminster; Chelsea; St.
George, Hanover Square; St. Marylebone; St. Giles;
Strand; Holborn; Shoreditch; and St. Olave, Southwark,
there was, during the decennial period, 1891-1901, an ex-
cess of births over deaths amounting to 94,032, but, in
spite of this natural increase, there was a net decrease
of 68,576 or 7'47 per cent, upon the 1891 population of
918,314. The whole of the county of London showed an
increase, for the period, of 309,228 or 7'34 per cent, upon
the 1891 population of 4,211,743. But in this same area,
the excess of births over deaths was 490,974, and, there-
fore, a migration of approximately 182,000 persons must
have taken place, the greater number of whom apparently
moved into the suburban districts.1 This is evidenced
in the rapid growth of the outer belt or that portion of
Greater London not falling within the administrative
county. The population of this area in 1891 was 1,405,489 ;
in 1901, 2,044,831— an increase of 639,342, or not less than
45^ per cent. It should also be noted that, within the
administrative county, the boroughs with the greatest rate
of increase are situated on the borders of the county, as,

1. The statistics upon which this calculation is based are to be found
in the Census Returns, 1901 : County of London, Table 22. The details
are appended here for the convenience of the student. See Table VII.

OVERHOUSING 37

for instance, Wandsworth, Lewisham, and Fulham. The
existence of such a movement is most interesting, and
its ultimate growth and influence upon housing conditions
worthy of far greater attention than can be given here.
Certainly the partial dishousing that has occurred in these
central areas has not produced any statistically-recorded
increase of overcrowding ; it would appear that the persons
affected have been pushed, or they have pushed others, into
the outer parts of the towns and that thereby a certain
diffusion of population has been brought about which can-
not be regarded, but with satisfaction, especially when it
is borne in mind that this dishousing means the uprooting,
from time to time, of some of the plague spots of bad housing
which are so frequent in the inner districts of the larger
towns. Of course, it would be idle to deny that increase

TABLE VII.

County of London ^Registration Districts showing Decrease of Population,

1891—1901.

Excess

of births Increase (+)
over deaths (+) or decrease

Population.

or of deaths

(-)of

Registration Districts.

1891.

1901.

over births (— ).

Population.

Chelsea

96,253

93,549

+ 6,532

- 2,704

St. George, Hanover Square

134,138

129,061

+ 879

- 5,077

Westminster

37,312

33,081

+ 2,671

- 4,231

St. Marylebone

142,404

132,295

+ 18,439

-10,109

St. Giles

39,782

34,534

+ 4,412

- 5,248

Strand

27,516

20,323

- 3,012

- 7,193

Holborn

141,920

130,533

+ 21,737

-11,387

City of London

38,320

27,535

- 5,683

-10,785

Shoreditch

124,009

117,706

+ 14,848

- 6,303

St. Olave, South wark

136,660

131,121

+ 15,819

- 5,539

Totals

918,314

849,738

+ 94,032

-68,576

County of London 4

,211,743

4,520,971

+ 490,974

+ 309,228

N.B. — The population figures shown both for 1891 and 1901 are those
of the Districts as they existed in 1891 and throughout the period
during which the Births and Deaths were registered.

38 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

of overcrowding is what one would ordinarily expect to
result from such movements, and it may be that this has
actually occurred, though difficult to trace because over-
balanced by a general improvement in housing conditions
which otherwise might have been more marked.

In any case the depopulation of certain areas by no
means constitutes a remedy for overhousing in general,
the disadvantages of which are easily demonstrable but
the method of whose removal is not so obvious. Indeed,
the question at once arises as to whether it is possible to
do away with the evils peculiar to the ' towniness of towns '
without working material injury to local economic
progress. A century ago, really valuable work might have
been done in providing against unhealthy urban expansion,
but our forefathers failed to seize the opportunity, which
has now largely passed, by. Still, much may be accom-
plished in the future by persistent effort. Already, numer-
ous municipal authorities have made good use of their
powers under local building acts to raise the standard of
house building. Nor should their endeavours to enlarge
the number of open spaces and parks within the bound-
aries of their boroughs be overlooked. The chief defect
of their policy in this regard has been limitation of scope,
lack of comprehensiveness. From this statement it must
not to be inferred that the writer contemplates wholesale
urban reconstruction. Under existing conditions, the best
that can be hoped for in town areas is the improvement
or removal of insanitary property, the demolition of ob-
structive buildings, and, occasionally, the reconstruction
of specially unhealthy areas. But around the towns ex-
tensive suburbs are steadily developing, and their growth
imperatively demands the most careful supervision, if, in
these new districts, old evils are not to be reproduced.

It is important that building extension should be per-

OVERHOUSING 39

mitted to take place only in harmony with, some general
plan supervised by a competent authority. The haphazard
huddling together of streets and houses must be prevented.
Whatever the detailed nature of such a plan may be, it
must provide for a thoroughly ventilated street system
and an adequate supply of open spaces. Many of the
local authorities have a real desire to secure for their
respective jurisdictions a healthy growth, and it would be
of public advantage if to this end their powers of building
control were enlarged.1 One real difficulty in the way of
a satisfactory supervision of urban extension lies in the
geographical limitation of the powers of any local author-
ity as at present constituted. Indiscriminate building
just without the boundaries of any administrative area
may render partly ineffectual efforts put forth within that
area. Suburbs have a disconcerting habit of disregarding
artificial boundary lines. It has been suggested, how-
ever, in an essay on "The Housing Problem," by F. W.
Lawrence,2 that this difficulty may be met by placing
the whole of the district tributary to each large town
under the control (for wide purposes) of some administra-
tive authority such as a Provincial Council, which may
or may not coincide with the local central authority.
There are not a few obstacles in the way of such a read-
justment of local authority, and, in the form suggested,
the idea may be impracticable, but, nevertheless, the ob-
jects aimed at are eminently proper, and. are deserving of
every consideration. To the mind of the writer, the cure
of overhousing presents an even more perplexing problem
than that of overcrowding, as will appear, to a certain
extent, from the statistics with which the remaining por-
tion of this chapter will be concerned.

1. See reference to German housing policy in Chapter XV.

2. An essay in a volume entitled " The Heart of the Empire," 1901.

40 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

High medical authority has asserted that no town can
be really healthy when its population exceeds twenty-five
to the acre, and, if this be so, the 1901 Census Returns
certainly condemn not only London, which has long borne
a reputation for overhousing, but also a number of other
cities and towns, as shown in the appended table. Column
1 of the table shows the density per acre of the respective
boroughs in 1901, and for purposes of comparison there have
been added column 2 containing the density per acre of
the borough in 1891, and column 3 showing, for towns
whose boundaries were altered during the decade, the den-
sity in 1891 of the borough area of 1901.

OVERHOUSING

TABLE VIII.

URBAN AREAS WITH A DENSITY OF POPULATION, IN 1901,
EXCEEDING TWENTY-FIVE PERSONS PER ACRE.

Population
per acre, 1901.

Population

per acre,

1891, of

the borough

area of 1901.

Population
per acre, 1891

London (Administr. Co.) ... 60'6 ... 56'5 ... —

West Ham 57'1 ... 43'8 ...

Liverpool 517 ... 79'3 ... 47'6

Brighton 48-8 ... 45*2 ...

South Shields 47'6 ... 42*2 ...

Plymouth 45-6 ... 54'8 ... 377

Sunderland 43'6 ... 45*4 ... 39'2

Salford 42*5 ... 38'2 ... —

Manchester 421 ... 39'0 ... —

Birmingham 41*4 ... 377 ... —

Newcastle on Tyne 40'0 ... 34'6 ... —

Portsmouth 37'8 ... 36'5 ... 31'8

Bootle 37-2 ... 307 ... —

Stockport 35-9 ... 32*2 ... —

Gateshead 35'0 ... 27'3 ... —

Hanley 34'8 ... 30'6 ... —

Middlesbrough 32'3 ... 26'8 ...

Derby 307 ... 27'2 ... —

Oldham 29'0 ... 277 ...

Birkenhead ... % 28'8 ... 26'0 ... —

Preston 28'2 ... 26'2 ... —

Bristol 28-1 ... 49-4 ... 247

Wigan 27'8 ... 25'2 ... —

Hull 26-8 ... 24-2 ... 22'3

Wolverhampton 267 ... 23'4 ...

Cardiff 257 ... 20'2 ... —

Northampton 25*1 ... 217 ... —

42 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

From columns 1 and 2 of this table, it would appear
thai, while most of the towns named evidenced an increase
in density of population since 1891, certain ones, Liver-
pool, Plymouth, Sundeiiand, and Bristol, showed an actual
decrease. But reference to column 3 will establish the
artificial nature of this decrease, for, in each case, during
the decade, suburban areas, more or less thinly populated,
had been enclosed within the borough boundaries. In
these instances, it is necessary to ascertain what was the
population per acre, in 1891, of all the district included
within the borough boundaries as determined in 1901, and
hence comparison should be made between columns 1 and
3. In the case of every county borough, then, with a
population, in 1901, of more than twenty-five persons to
the acre, an increase in density had taken place during the
previous decade : the same statement holds good with
regard to the administrative county of London. The in-
fluence of the metropolis upon its neighbour, West Ham,
is shown markedly in the growth of the latter during the
period from 43'8 to 57' 1, an increase of no less than 13'3
persons per acre, far ahead of the borough with the next
largest increase, Plymouth, for which a gain of 7' 9 per
acre is recorded. Beside those appearing in the list
above, there are numerous towns with a density of popu-
lation less than twenty-five per acre in 1901, which have
already passed that figure and others which are steadily
advancing to it.1 In the mere fact of an increasing
density, there is, of course, nothing remarkable; under
present economic conditions, any other movement would
be associated with industrial and commercial stagnation,

1. For instance, the Registrar General's estimate for mid- 1905 places
Leicester (26'6 per acre), Southampton (25'5), Bournemouth (25'4),
Burnley (25'4) and Devonport (25'2) above the desirable maximum per
acre.

OVERHOUSING 43

if not decay. The question is to what extent will it pro-
ceed. In the nature of things, a physical limit to the
number of people that can be housed on an acre of ground,
must exist, though, in view of the introduction of new
types of dwellings, it is no easy matter to fix that limit.
Are town dwellers to be forced by the swelling tide of
population to mass together in hundreds to the acre, living
in gigantic barracks, or will the normal action of economic
and social forces ultimately provide a remedy for this
tendency ? The experience of Paris, New York, Chicago,
and many other cities would seem to indicate the ease
with which a city population can adapt itself to such con-
ditions.

The figures that have just been given by no means reveal
the full seriousness of overhousing, even as conditions
stand now. In 1901, several of the London boroughs ex-
ceeded a density of one hundred persons per acre; for
example,1 Southwark with 182, Shoreditch with 180, Fins-
bury with 172, Bethnal Green with 171, Stepney with 169,
Holborn with 147, Chelsea with 112, Islington with 108,
and Paddington with 106, the aggregate population of
these boroughs totalling up to nearly one and a half mil-
lion people. Certain districts reached far beyond these
figures even, a few instances of which are shown in the
following table.2

1. 1901 Census figures.

2. The statistics are taken from the 1901 Census Returns — County of
London Returns.

44 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE IX.

METROPOLITAN OVERHOUSING, 1901.

Population. Per acre.

Old Artillery Ground (Stepney) 2,098 ... 396

Spitalfields (Stepney) 24,208 ... 328

Mile End New Town (Stepney) 13,259 ... 308

St. George North. (Part of St. George in

the East, Stepney) ... 40,976 ... 279

Hoxton Old Town (Shoreditch) 26,504 ... 227

St. Anne within the Liberty of West-
minster ... ... 11,493 ... 215

St. Andrew Holborn above the Bars, with

St. George the Martyr (Holborn) ... 25,103 ... 213

St. George the Martyr (Southwark) ... 60,998 ... 211

City Bx>ad (Part of St. Luke) 25,403 ... 203

Clerkenwell (Finsbury) ... 63,704 ... 201

Most towns have, within their limits, localities where
the population per acre far exceeds the average for the
whole town. In York, with an average density of 20' 9,
there are certain working class districts which have from
100 to 350 persons per acre ; and, to name but a few other
instances, Manchester contains St. George (population
58,264) with 117, and Ancoats (population 44,040) with
110 per acre; Liverpool has North Everton (population
54,075) with 178, and St. Martin (population 52,966) with
102 per acre ; Newcastle upon Tyne has Westgate (popula-
tion 30,116) with 133 per acre; and the registration dis-
trict of Tynemouth contains North Shields (population
5,737) with 147, and Cullercoats (population 1,743) with
116 per acre.1 Conditions equally as bad could be found
in many other towns. The removal of overcrowding would
give not a little relief, it is true, but there would still
remain a congestion of houses and of population, perni-
cious in its effects upon the health and strength of the
present and future generations of urban workers.

1. 1901 Census figures.

CHAPTER III.

THE FACTS OF OVERCROWDING AS EVIDENCED BY THE CENSUS
RETURNS, 1891-1901.

The evils arising from overcrowding are both physical
and moral, and are cumulative in effect. Their serious-
ness has rarely been questioned, and therefore it is hardly
necessary to spend time over the proving of what is
universally admitted. One word of warning may be given,
namely, that a correct analysis of the conditions of over-
crowding will not underestimate, but, on the other hand,
not overestimate their seriousness. The method of invest-
igation which draws its conclusions from extreme cases
may provide vivid " copy," but is not calculated to give
an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the situa-
tion as a whole, upon which alone action should be based.
For this reason, I have chosen to pass by much interesting
matter detailing conditions in particular localities, pre-
ferring the less attractive but really more valuable statis-
tical treatment.

In making enquiry into the extent of overcrowding in
this country, the Census Returns for 1891 and 1901 afford
statistical material of the highest value. Unfortunately,
this material does not go back earlier than 1891, the Census
of that year being the first one to make investigation into
the extent of overcrowding. Each county return now con-
tains classified information as to the number of people
occupying tenements of one, two, three, or four rooms in
each urban and. rural district.1 An overcrowded tenement
is officially defined as one inhabited by more than two

1. The Summary Tables (1901 Returns, Appendix A, Table 42) give
the total number of persons overcrowded and the percentage of over-
crowding in the case of the metropolitan and county boroughs and
several of the more important municipal boroughs and urban districts.

46 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

persons to a room. Thus a tenement of three bed-rooms
and one living-room is not deemed overcrowded unless
occupied by nine or more persons. The division is an arti-
ficial one, but possesses the merit of simplicity, and, under
normal circumstances, cannot be regarded as too strict.
It is necessarily defective in that it does not take into
account the superficial area or the cubical capacity of the
rooms, and hence a three roomed tenement, containing two
large bedrooms with sleeping accommodation for eight
persons may be less crowded, in reality, than a four roomed
one with small rooms and occupied by the same number
of people; nevertheless, the Census Returns represent the
former alone as overcrowded. This defect, however, is
not a serious one, for, in the vast majority of cases, the
rooms of the class of houses dealt with are quite small.
ISTor is the omission from the calculations of tenements
with more than four rooms of any importance ; the over-
crowding that exists in tenements (as distinguished from
houses) of five rooms and more would probably not have
affected the figures appreciably.

Though rural districts are by no means free from over-
crowding, it is in the urban districts, of course, that the
greatest number of people is affected. Accordingly, in
the first place, a table is presented showing the extent of
overcrowding, at the date of the 1901 Census, in some
eighty-four urban districts, arranged in decreasing order
of population. This table does not include the London
boroughs.

OVERCROWDING

TABLE X.

CENSUS (1901) OVERCROWDING IN THE COUNTY BOROUGHS
OF ENGLAND AND WALES, INCLUDING ALSO OTHER
URBAN DISTRICTS HAVING A POPULATION OF MORE THAN
50,000.

(The Boroughs and Districts are arranged in
decreasing order of population.)

C.B. = County Borough ; M.B. = Municipal Borough ;
U.D. = Other Urban Districts.

Locality.

Liverpool, City of

Manchester, City of

Birmingham, City of ...

Leeds, City of

Sheffield, City of

Bristol, City of

Bradford, City of

West Ham

Hull, City of

Nottingham, City of ....

Salford

Newcastle - upon - Tyne,

City of

Leicester

Portsmouth

Bolton

Cardiff

Sunderland ,

Oldham ,

Croydon

Blackburn

Brighton

Willesden

Rhondda

Preston

Norwich, City of

Birkenhead

Gateshead

Plymouth

Derby

Halifax .

** "5 „

sffi &g f.2

III I till .

£8£g «o>>g 0-5

fc a o .2 PL< «s o .2 H .5

C.B.

684,958

54,390

7-94

138,845

C.B.

543,872

34,147

6-28

112,854

C.B.

522,204

53,936

10-33

109,942

C.B.

428,968

43,239

10-08

95,406

C.B.

380,793

36,159

9-50

80,341

C.B.

328,945

11,687

3-55

71,215

C.B.

279,767

40,896

14-62

64,616

C.B.

267,358

24,790

9-27

56,390

C.B.

240,259

14,709

6-12

53,057

C.B.

239,743

8,761

3'65

53,389

C.B.

220,957

16,653

7-54

45,541

C.B.

215,328

65,605

30-47

44,600

C.B.

211,579

2,217

1-04

46,162

C.B.

188,133

2,241

1-19

41,489

C.B.

168,215

10,927

6-50

36,177

C.B.

164,333

4,802

2-92

33,824

C.B.

146,077

43,976

30-10

30,833

C.B.

137,246

10,191

7-43

30,058

C.B.

133,895

3,673

2'74

28,807

C.B.

127,626

5,007

3-92

27,566

C.B.

123,478

3,793

3-07

28,846

U.D.

114,811

13,312

11-59

25,657

U.D.

113,735

5,660

4-98

21,619

C.B.

112,989

2,980

2-64

24,341

C.B.

111,733

3,732

3-34

25,585

C.B.

110,915

5,564

5-02

22,167

C.B.

109,888

37,957

34-54

22,835

C.B.

107,636

21,735

20-19

25,369

C.B.

105,912

1,252

1-18

23,230

C.B.

104,936

15,201

14-49

25,030

8,983
4,516
6,991
6,086
4,789
1,817
5,930
3,658
1,903
1,160
2,278

10,196
332
378

1,328
720

6,658

1,224
568
557
695

2,057
777
335
507
830

5,668

3,809
173

2,382

£5.2

6-47
4-00
6-35
6'37
5-96
2-55
9-17
6-48
3-58
2-17
5-00

22-86
071
0'91
3-67
2-12

21-59
4-07
1-97
2-02
2-40
8'01
3-59
1-37
1-98
3-74

24*82

15-01
0-77
9-51

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE X.— continued.

Southampton

C.B.

104,824

2,213

2-11

23,048

370

T60

Tottenham

U.D.

102,541

5,835

5-69

21,910

941

4-29

Leyton

U.D.

98,912

2,548

2-58

20,659

373

18*05

South Shields

C.B.

97,263

31,529

32'42

21,252

4,783

22-50

Burnley

C.B.

97,043

6,931

7-14

21,279

928

4-36

East Ham

U.D.

96,018

2,480

2-58

20,189

373

1-84

Walthamstow

U.D.

95,131

3,173

3-33

19,830

458

2-30

Huddersfield

C.B.

95,047

12,245

12-88

22,409

1,914

8'54

Swansea

C.B.

94,537

5,261

5-57

19,455

694

3'56

Wolverhampton

C.B.

94,187

4,398

4-67

19,495

578

2-96

Middlesbrough

C.B.

91,302

9,939

10-89

17,942

1,242

6-92

Northampton

C.B.

87,021

845

0-97

13,846

112

0-81

Walsall

C.B.

86,430

4,485

5'19

17,308

542

3-13

St. Helens

C.B.

84,410

9,166

10-86

15,390

1,076

6-99

Rochdale

C.B.

83,114

6,057

7-29

20,233

848

4-19

Stockport

C.B.

78,897

3,929

4-98

18,090

509

2-81

York, City of

C.B.

77,914

4,239

5-44

16,862

598

3-54

Aston Manor

U.D.

77,326

3,921

5-07

16,539

503

3-04

Reading

C.B.

72,217

886

1-23

15,074

121

0-80

Hornsey

U.D.

72,056

1,438

2-00

15,571

232

1-49

Devonport

C.B.

70,437

12,243

17-38

15,530

2,183

14-05

Coventry, City of

C.B.

69,978

3,338

4-77

15,743

466

2-96

Merthyr Tydfil

U.D.

69,228

8,414

12-15

13,317

1,074

8-06

Newport (Mon.)

C.B.

67,270

1,946

2-89

13,487

285

2-11

Ipswich

C.B.

66,630

758

1-14

14,729

107

0-07

Hastings

C.B.

65,528

1,886

2-88

14,600

306

2-09

West Bromwich

C.B.

65,175

6,645

10-20

13,030

866

6'64

Warrington

C.B.

64,242

2,438

3-80

12,381

294

2-37

Grimsby

C.B.

63,138

1,204

1-91

13,574

162

.1-19

West Hartlepool

M.B.

62,627

6,950

11-10

12,459

908

7-28

Hanley

C.B.

61,599

2,331

3-78

12,272

273

2-22

Wigan

C.B.

60,764

8,124

13-38

11,421

996

8-72

Bootle

C.B.

58,556

3,529

6-03

11,247

578

5-13

Bury

C.B.

58,029

3,319

5-72

12,800

404

3-15

Barrow-in-Furness

C.B.

57,586

5,825

10-12

10,313

810

7-85

King's Norton & North-

field

U.D.

57,122

869

1-52

11,591

108

0-93

Smethwick

M.B.

54,539

1,702

3-12

11,139

217

1-94

Rotherham

M.B.

54,349

4,578

8-42

10,894

541

4-96

Wallasey

U.D.

53,579

817

1-52

11,245

107

0-95

Handsworth

U.D.

52.921

767

T45

11,294

101

0-89

Stockton-upon-Tees

M.B.

51,478

5,175

10-05

10,212

664

6-50

Tynemouth

M.B.

51,366

15,777

30-71

11,000

2,541

23-10

Great Yarmouth

C.B.

51,316

936

1-82

11,882

111

0-93

Burton-upon-Trent

C.B.

50,386

862

1-71

10,519

102

0-97

Bath, City of

C.B.

49,839

2,228

4-47

11,733

353

3-00

Oxford, City of

C.B.

49,336

678

1-37

10,955

0-87

Lincoln, City of

C.B.

48,784

763

1'56

11,016

0-89

Dudley

C.B.

48,733

8,519

17-48

10,077

1,092

10-83

Gloucester, City of

C.B.

47,955

1,135

2-37

10,342

151

1-46

Exeter, City of

C.B.

47,185

2,279

4-83

10,806

368

3-40

Bournemouth

C.B.

47,003

290

0-62

9,398

0-53

Worcester, City of

C.B.

46,624

1,973

4-23

10,718

273

2-54

Chester, City of

C.B.

38,309

2,205

5'76

8,108

288

3-55

Canterbury, City of

C.B.

24,899

541

2-17

5,283

1'53

OVERCROWDING

To facilitate the study of the foregoing, another table
follows in which the eighty-four urban districts are ar-
ranged accordingly to the intensity of overcrowding within
their areas, the number of the population of each district
being again added, so that constant cross-reference to the
former table may not be necessary.

TABLE XI.

CENSUS (1901) OVERCROWDING. REARRANGEMENT OF THE
URBAN DISTRICTS, NAMED IN THE PREVIOUS TABLE,
ACCORDING TO INTENSITY OF OVERCROWDING.

Over 10 per

cent.

Per. Cent.

Population

Gateshead

34-54 ...

109,888

South Shields

32-42 ...

97,263

Tynemouth

30-71 ...

51,366

Newcastle upon Tyne ...

30-47 ...

215,328

Sunderland

30-10 ...

146,077

Plymouth

20*19 ...

107,636

Dudley

17-48 ...

48,733

Devonport

17-38 ...

70,437

Bradford

14-61 ...

279,767

Halifax

14-49 ...

104,936

TV^isran .

13-38 ...

60,764

Huddersfield ...

12-88 ...

95,047

MerthyrTydfil

12-15 ...

69,228

Willesden

11-59 ...

114,811

"West Hartlepool

11-10 ...

62,627

Middlesbrough

10-89 ...

91,302

St. Helens

10-86 ...

84,410

Birmingham ...

10-32 ...

522,204

West Bromwich

10-20 ...

65,175

Barrow-in-Furness

10-12 ...

57,586

Leeds

10*08

428,968

Stockton-upon-Tees ...

10-05 ...

51,478

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE XI. — continued.

Between 5 and 10

per cent.

Per. Cent.

Population.

Sheffield

9-50 ...

380,793

West Ham

9-27 ...

267,358

Rotherham

8-42 ...

54,349

Liverpool

7-94 ...

684,958

Salford

7-54 ...

220,957

Oldham

7-42 ...

137,246

Rochdale

7-29 ...

83,114

Burnley

7-14 ...

97,043

Bolt on ...

6'50 ...

168,215

Manchester

6'28 ...

543,872

Hull

6-12 ...

240,259

Bootle

6'03 ...

58,556

Chester

576 ...

38,309

Burv

5'72 ...

58,029

Tottenham

5-69 ...

102,541

Swansea

5-57 ...

94,537

York

5:44 ...

77,914

Walsall

5-19 ...

86,430

Aston Manor ...

5-07 ...

77,326

Birkenhead

5-02 ...

110,915

Stockport
Rhondda

Exeter

Coventry
Wolverhampton

Bath

Worcester

Not over 5 per cent.

Per. Cent. Population.

4-98 ... 78,897

4-98 ... 113,735

4'83 ... 47,185

477 ... 69,978

4'67 ... 94,187

4-47 ... 49,839

4-23 46,624

OVERCROWDING

TABLE XI — continued.

Hanley

Notting

Bristol

Norwich

Walthai

Smethwi

Brighton

Cardiff

Newport

Hastings

Croyd

Preston

East B

Leyton

Gloucej

Canterl

Southai

Hornsey

Grimsby

Great Y

Burton

Lincoln

King's 1

Wallasey

HandsT

Oxford

Reading

Ports*

Derby

Ipswich

Leicester

urn ... ... ... 3'92 ...

127,626

igton ... ... ... 3*80 ...

64,242

r 3'78 ...

61,599

'ham ... ... ... 3'65 ...

239,743

3'55 ...

328,945

h 3-34 ...

111,733

ams*tow. .. ... ... 3'33

95,131

rick 3-12 ...

54,539

on 3-07 ...

123,478

2'92 ...

164,333

rt 2'89 ...

67,270

?s 2-88 ...

65,528

n 2-74 ...

133,895

i 2-64 ...

112,989

[am 2'58 ...

96,018

2'58 ...

98,912

jter 2'37 ...

47,955

mry 217 ...

24,899

tnpton ... ... ... 2'11 ...

104,824

y 2-00 ...

72,056

y 1-91 ...

63,138

farmouth T82 ...

51,316

upon Trent 1*71 ...

50,386

i 1*56 ...

48,784

Norton and Northfield T52 ...

57,122

57 T52 ...

53,579

rorth 1'45 ...

52,921

1-37 ...

49,336

1 1-22 ...

72,217

>uth 1-19 ...

188,133

1-18

105,912

1-14 ...

66,630

sr 1-04 ...

211,579

aipton -97 ...

87,021

mouth -62 ...

47,003

52 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

It is evident from these tables that the percentage of
overcrowding in the urban districts of England and Wales
varies in a most remarkable manner. From the '62 per
cent of Bournemouth to the 34'54 per cent of Gateshead
is a far cry. One of the most striking features is the
position occupied'by the group of towns comprising Gates-
head, South Shields, Tynemouth, Newcastle-upon Tyne,
and Sunderland; the extent to which overcrowding is
prevalent in these five towns, all situated within compara-
tively short distances of one another, far exceeds that of
any other urban districts in the country outside London.
And it should be noticed that the other more important
urban districts of the same area, West Hartlepool, Middles-
brough, and Stockton-upon-Tees, all occupy high places
in the second table. Contrasts, often surprising, are
afforded in abundance, as, for example, Portsmouth with
1*19 and Plymouth with 20'19 per cent. ; Blackburn with
3'92, or Warrington with 3'80, and Wigan with 13'38 per
cent. Where overcrowding affects less than five per cent,
of the population, it cannot be considered to be very serious,
and it is a matter for congratulation that so many towns,
forty-two out of the eighty-four named in the table, were
in this position in 1901. Of the remaining forty-two,
twenty had between five and ten per cent., fourteen between
ten and fifteen per cent., two between fifteen and twenty
per cent., one between twenty and twenty-five per cent.,
and five between thirty and thirty-five per cent. The
towns with more than five per cent, are, with one or two
exceptions, industrial centres ; nearly all places with little
industrial development show less than five per cent. But
the latter do not monopolise the third division of Table XL
to anything like the same extent that industrial towns do
the first and second divisions, for quite a number of manu-
facturing and shipping towns are included. In spite of

OVERCROWDING 53

their large masses of population the great provincial cities
do not rank among the towns of highest percentage.1 Bir-
mingham is eighteenth on the list, Leeds twenty-first,
Sheffield twenty-third, Liverpool twenty-sixth, and Man-
chester thirty-second. On the other hand, some of the
small towns occupy high places, as Tynemouth third,
Dudley seventh, Wigan eleventh, and so on. An examina-
tion of Table X. will reveal a number of instances where
towns of considerable size contain far less overcrowding,
absolutely and not merely comparatively, than much
smaller towns. Thus, at the 1901 Census, Liverpool, with
685,000 inhabitants, contained 54,390 persons living in
overcrowded tenements, while Xewcastle-upon-Tyne, with
less than a third of the population, contained no less than
65,605 persons so situated ; Leicester, with 212,000 inhabi-
tants, contained 2,217 as compared with 12,245 in Hudders-
field out of a total population of little more than 95,000.
These anomalies are reflected, of course, in the percentage
figures, and if the latter be carefully compared with the
corresponding population statistics, the cases just men-
tioned will be found to be supplemented by many others,
not always affording such extreme contrasts, but still
enough to show clearly that variations in intensity of over-
crowding do not coincide with variations in size of popula-
tion. Still, though there is not a formal and complete
co-incidence of this kind — very far from it — the fact must
not be overlooked that a certain statistical relationship does
exist between the two. This is indicated by the summary

1. On the contrary, the administrative county of London, taken as a
single city, would rank seventh : one of the boroughs composing it
(Finsbury) would rank at the head of the table, while seven other
boroughs would stand before Plymouth which is sixth on the table now
being considered. But London or its boroughs can hardly be treated as
on all fours with the other cities, and, to mark my sense of this differ-
ence, I have postponed the metropolitan statistics of overcrowding to a
subsequent table.

54 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

now presented. The urban districts of Table XI. have
been arranged in three groups representing large towns,
medium-sized towns, and small towns respectively, and in
each group is shown the number of towns with more than
five per cent, of overcrowding, also of those with less than
that proportion, this percentage being taken as roughly
marking off the milder from the more serious cases.

Number of Urban Districts
With more than With less than

five per cent. five per cent.

Population of Urban Districts. of overcrowding, of overcrowding.

1. 200,000 and upwards ... 11 ... 2

2. 50,000 to 200,000 ... 29 ... 32

3. Less than 50,000 ... 3 ... 7

The third group includes only county boroughs, neither
municipal boroughs nor other urban districts with a popula-
tion of less than 50,000 inhabitants having been included
in the previous table from which this summary has been
made. If such had been taken into account, the prepon-
derance of less serious cases (under 5 per cent) in this group
would have been more marked than it is in the foregoing
table. In this country, then, overcrowding is more fre-
quently serious in large than in medium-sized towns, and
in medium-sized than in small towns. This is due to the
fact that, generally speaking, the development of the urban
factory system was the main cause of the growth in size
of the towns. The more fully the system was developed
in any locality, the more extensive became the population,
the more intense the concentration of industry and of
labour, and therefore the more urgent the demand for
workshop and house room within the limits of the working
area. Moreover, the wider the industrial development, the
greater was the immigration of those in search of employ-
ment, and the larger became the proportion of unskilled

OVERCROWDING 55

and irregularly employed labour to the population. As
these movements were directly productive of overcrowding,
the evil naturally established itself wherever they took place,
and the more effective they were, the more intense did it
tend to become : if they had been able to act without being
affected by other forces, no doubt there would have resulted
a descending gradation of intensity of overcrowding from
large to medium and from medium to small-sized towns.
However, other powerful influences were at work, disturb-
ing such a result, but the evidence of the summary argues
the existence of such a tendency. As a matter of fact,
the actual amount of overcrowding in any town is not the
product of a single cause or of a simple combination of
causes. It is the net product of a very complex conjunctur,
if I may use that word in a wide sense. Diverse forces,
moral, intellectual, political, economic and social, have
operated, in the different local communities, with varying
degrees of influence upon the mode of development, and the
extent to which improper housing conditions have de-
veloped has depended upon the mutual relationship and
comparative strength of these forces.

For instance, the dimensions of the urban overcrowding
that grew up in the early years of the nineteenth century
were undoubtedly affected by the varying efficiency of local
sanitary administration. Perhaps it would be more accur-
ate to say inefficiency, for there was little semblance of
method or effective organisation in the local government
of the period. Towns wherein rapid industrial develop-
ment was associated with inept local government were
almost inevitably marked out for serious overcrowding.
The inefficient local government of a century ago must be
held responsible, to no light degree, for the housing problem
with which this nation has been struggling for more than
fifty years.

56 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Again, the character and training of the people must
surely be admitted to have some bearing upon the growth
of overcrowding. There are differences of civilisation not
only between one nation and another but even within the
limits of the same nation. Any student of social conditions
will have no difficulty in recalling instances of striking
contrasts in the manners and morals of the natives of
districts within a few miles of one another. As the stan-
dard of comfort in living tends to vary, in part, at any
rate, with the standard of civilisation, the lower the latter
the more likely that overcrowding and insanitation will
flourish. In the more undeveloped communities, less
power of resistance exists because the evil of these con-
ditions is not so fully realised as in the more progressive
ones.1

Further, general character is strongly influenced by
the nature of daily occupation : work that calls for
little exercise of the higher mental powers and that
has to be performed under unpleasant conditions is
admitted to exercise a deadening effect upon both mental
and moral faculties, though, sometimes, this is combated
by external social and religious influences. Certainly, what-
ever affects the mental or moral position of a community,
tends to facilitate, or otherwise, the establishment of un-
favourable conditions of living. In the case of several
towns situated on the Northumberland and Durham coal-
field, the existence of an extraordinary degree of overcrowd-
ing has been noted, and, from the point of view now taken,
it is reasonable to presume that the nature of the pre-
dominant industry of this region has played some part in
promoting and perpetuating such a condition — the extent

1. The influence in this direction exerted by the pauper alien settle-
ments, to which reference has already been made, must be taken into
account under this head.

OVERCROWDING 57

of its influence it is impossible to estimate, but, whether
small or great, it should be taken into account.1

Indirect reference has been made to the increase in value
of urban land brought about by industrial progress, and
it may now be noted that, owing to differences in industrial
development and to other causes, the average value of urban
land, occupying similar positions, has varied, and continues
to vary considerably from town to town, much more than
do the rate of wages and the cost of living. It follows
that house rent for the same class of accommodation must
stand at a higher level in one town than in another, and
therefore that, unless they are able and willing to devote
a larger proportion of their income to rent, the inhabitants
of the former will be obliged to content themselves with
less house accommodation : there is an inducement to
overcrowd.

In tracing out reasons for the variation in the intensity
of urban overcrowding, the fecundity of marriage should
also be taken into account. The average size of family
among the labouring classes occasionally varies consider-
ably from locality to locality. Wherever this is the case,

1. The North of England, as shown in the summary below, embraced,
at the time of the 1901 Census, 37 urban districts, which were either
county boroughs or had a population of not less than 50,000 inhabitants
each : 29 of these (78^ per cent.) contained over 5 per cent, of over-
crowding. The corresponding figures for the Midlands were 5 out of 18
(27| per cent.), and for the South (including S. Wales, but excluding
the Metropolis) 8 out of 29 (27£ per cent.).

Number of County Boroughs, and Urban
Districts of more than 50. 000 inhabitants.

England and Wales. With more than 5 % With less than 5 %

of Overcrowding. of Overcrowding.

Northern Section 29 ... 8

Midland Section 5 ... 13

Southern Section (including S. Wales) ... 8 ... 21

It seems impossible to explain satisfactorily so marked a difference in
the percentage figures without adding, to the consideration of the rela-
tive effects of industrial progress, efficiency of local administration, and
so forth, some recognition of the influence of temperament and of
occupation.

58 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

other things being equal, a heavier proportion of over-
crowding is likely to result. A moment's digression may
be pardoned here to observe that family overcrowding,
uncomplicated by the presence of lodgers or by residence
in tenement houses, is a comparatively mild form of the
evil, and the greater proportion it bears to overcrowding
in general, the less serious is the urgency of the problem.1
Attention was called by the Report of the Royal Com-
mission of 1884—85 to the increase of overcrowding arising,
particularly in London, from the fact that large numbers
of the poorest class frequently migrate from tenement to
tenement within the same district, and thereby stimulate
the growth of rents, inasmuch as the demand for ac-
commodation is thus artificially increased, and rents have
to cover a larger insurance against the risks of vacancy
and of defaulting tenants. The same Commission had in-
formation placed before them as to the farming out of
houses under the leasehold system, which seems to be con-
clusive that, in the hands of careless or unprincipled
lessees, very bad housing conditions, indeed, may result
therefrom.2 One ought also to note the evidence contained
in this very valuable report as to the accentuation of over-
crowding produced by the administration of the Artizans'
Dwellings Acts of 1875 and subsequent years. The testi-
mony adduced established as a fact that the clearing of
insanitary areas under these Acts increased the over-
crowding it was intended to relieve. The inhabitants, ex-
pelled from the cleared areas, crowded into the surround-
ing neighbourhoods, intensifying overcrowding where it
already existed, introducing it where it did not exist,
forming new slums, and spreading the contagion of sani-

1. But, of course, the conditions would still need remedying.

2. See also reference to " farming " in the Township of Manchester,
Appendix A.

OVERCROWDING 59

tary immorality more widely than ever. In so far as any
of these — migratory habits, farming out of houses, ad-
ministration of the 1875 Cross Act — prevail, or have pre-
vailed, in one place more than in another, the more severe
is overcrowding in that place likely to be unless their
influence has been combated by opposing forces able to
modify their power for evil.

From what has been advanced in this and the pre-
ceding chapters, it will be clear that, in seeking an ex-
planation of urban overcrowding, with its singular
variation in intensity, the complex operation of very
diverse forces and the influence of very different conditions
must be recognised. As these forces and conditions have
varied, in the past, from place to place, both as regards
their degree of individual effectiveness and the manner in
which they have been combined, so the intensity of over-
crowding has varied.

The present condition of overcrowding in London may
now be presented in the same tabular form as used for
the provinces. As will be seen from the foot of the table,
the Administrative County of London contained, at the
date of the 1901 Census, 726,096 persons living in over-
crowded conditions, or 16'01 per cent, of the population.
Of the constituent boroughs, Finsbury stood first with
35'21 per cent, of overcrowding, and Lewisham last with
2' 68 per cent. ; only eight boroughs fell below ten per cent.,
and only two of these below five per cent.

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE XII.

CENSUS (1901). OVERCROWDING IN THE METROPOLITAN
BOROUGHS AND IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE COUNTY OF
LONDON.

Number of
People

Percentage
of Population

Total
Number

Number of

Per-
centage

Borough.

Population.

living in

Overcrowded

of Over-

Overcrowded

Inhabited

Tenements.

crowded

Tenements.

Tenements

'enemeiits

Finsbury

101,463

35,723

35-21

24,097

6,373

26-45

Stepney

298,600

99,179

33-21

61,113

15,541

25-43

Shoreditch

118,637

35,529

29-95

27,031

6,272

23-20

Bethnal Green ,

129,680

38,410

29-62

28,209

6,384

22-63

Holborn

59,405

14,875

25-04

13,790

2,783

20*18

Southwark

206,180

46,073

22-35

47,808

8,133

17-01

St. Pancras

253,317

56,423

23-98

57,045

10,158

17-81

St. Marylebone

133,301

28,147

21-12

31,623

5,180

16-38

Bermondsey

130,760

25,726

19-67

29,073

4,307

14-81

Islington

334,991

56,948

17-00

79,129

10,071

12-73

Poplar

168,822

27,700

16-41

35,787

4,414

12-33

Kensington

176,628

26,207

14-84

38,349

4,599

11-99

Chelsea

73,842

10,659

14-43

17,467

1,914

10-96

Paddington

143,976

19,531

13-57

33,661

3,404

lO'll

Westminster

183,011

23,856

13-04

41,344

4,346

10*54

Lambeth

301,895

36,904

12-22

70,887

6,548

9-24

Hammersmith

112,239

13,192

11-75

25,810

2,185

8-47

Battersea

168,907

18,381

10-88

38,987

3,032

7-78

City of London ....

26,923

2,921

10-85

5,339

504

9-44

Fulham

137,289

14,892

10-85

32,137

2,341

7-28

Hackney

219,272

22,332

10-18

48,794

3,684

7-55

Camberwell

259,339

25,012

9-64

56,985

4,073

7-15

Deptford

110,398

9,999

9-06

24,615

1,667

6-77

Greenwich

95,770

7,947

8-30

19,702

1,199

6-08

Woolwich

117,178

7,727

6-59

24,585

1,243

5-01

Hampstead

81,942

5,215

6-36

16,998

864

5-08

Stoke Newington ...

51,247

2,835

5-53

11,824

497

4-20

Wandsworth

232,034

10,377

4-45

49,756

1,525

3-06

Lewisham

127,495

3,416

2-68

27,701

535

1-93

London (Administr.

Co.)

4,536,541

726,096

16-01 1

,019,646

124,773

12-24

OVERCROWDING 61

The forces favouring overcrowding have had a full and
free course in London. When the influence of the In-
dustrial Revolution first began to be felt, it was already
a large city, and, starting from such a level, its growth
under the new stimulus proceeded by leaps and bounds.
Rural migration brought to it an enormous amount of
country labour, and there was also a certain migration
from other towns. Its municipal government was as con-
fused, as inefficient, and as inadequate as well could be,
and this state may be said to have continued for many
years. In fact, nearly every cause that favoured the ex-
tension of overcrowding in the provincial centres operated,
but with greater effect, in London. Accordingly, very
serious overcrowding resulted : in 1901 there were as many
overcrowded persons within the limits of its administrative
county as in the whole of the forty-nine most populous
provincial urban districts of England and Wales, as enu-
merated in Table X.

One point in connection with the distribution of urban
overcrowding, whether in or outside London, that has not
been dealt with so far, may be briefly noticed, viz., the
distribution of overcrowding among the various kinds of
small tenements. As an illustration I reclassify, from this
point of view, the overcrowding statistics of eight im-
portant towns, tabulating the results in the following
manner.

62 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE XIII.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF OVERCROWDING AMONG THE VARIOUS
CLASSES OF SMALL TENEMENTS IN CERTAIN COUNTY
BOROUGHS, 1901.

Each number represents the percentage of over-
crowded persons (based npon the overcrowded popula-
tion of the borough) living in tenements of the class
named.

P< 0) *G o> ,^05 rtC^Q' C <D

go go^o £ C « "3 « -So go -go
Tenements of S£ g| SI 1 1| || g£ £! ||

One Eoom ...... 18 5 3 16 1 12 22 9

Two Rooms ... 29 22 36 48 8 27 48 21

Three Rooms ... 32 15 36 26 78 34 20 41

Four Rooms ... 21 58 25 10 13 27 10 29

In Birmingham, the proportion of overcrowding that
exists in one-roomed tenements is surprisingly low when
compared with that in some of the other towns : Liverpool
reaches 18 per cent., and Plymouth the still higher figure
of 22 per cent. Birmingham favours this class of house to
a much less degree than either of the other towns, contain-
only 1,085 of them as compared with 8,257 for Liverpool,
and 4,338 for Plymouth. In the first-named city, seventy-
eight per cent, of the overcrowding occurs in three-roomed
tenements : Manchester's overcrowding inclines toward
the four- roomed, that of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Ply-
mouth toward the two-roomed tenements. Taking the
towns generally, the great bulk of the overcrowding is to
be found in two and three-roomed tenements, through the
proportion of overcrowded tenements attains its maximum
in the classes of one and two-roomed houses, as appears
from the further table now inserted. It will be noticed
from the table how in each case, with one slight exception,
the proportion of overcrowded tenements decreases as we
pass from the smaller to the larger dwellings.

OVERCROWDING 63

TABLE XIV.

THE PROPORTION OF OVERCROWDED TENEMENTS IN EACH
CLASS OF SMALL DWELLINGS (ONE TO FOUR ROOMS),
1901.

Proportion of overcrowded tenements of one, two, three, and four
rooms to the total number of tenements in each class.

Liver- Man- Newcastle- Bir- Ply- West

Tenements of pool. Chester. Leeds. on-Tyne. m'gham. Bristol, mouth. Ham.

One Room 30 21 30 56 14 11 31 25

Two Rooms 24 19 22 42 18 8 24 17

Three Rooms .... 17 13 12 19 16 8 16 12

Four Rooms 44595486

Such analyses, extended to cover the whole country,
ought to be useful in enabling an exact idea of the real
nature and locale of overcrowding to be ascertained,
especially if they could be based upon more comprehensive
statistics than are at present available. A municipal
census of overcrowding, carried on simultaneously
throughout the land, would be most helpful in the solution
of the housing problem.

In estimating the gravity of overcrowding in any par-
ticular town, there are considerations beyond any yet
presented, of which it is desirable to take account, and to
two of these a passing allusion may be made. As regards
the first, common report nearly always associates urban
overcrowding with "slum" areas, and, in most cases, cor-
rectly, but it is worthy of notice that a high percentage of
overcrowding may exist in a town with a comparatively
small amount of " slum " area in the strict sense of the
word : I believe this to be so, for instance, at Hudders-
field. As regards the second consideration, there are
certain cases in which overcrowding, while altogether un-
desirable, cannot be considered as gross in character, un-

64 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

less, indeed, some (at present) impracticable standard of
house accommodation be set up and comparison made
therewith. The Census Returns, as already observed, do
not class any tenement as overcrowded unless its inmates
average out to more than two individuals per room. This
allows two persons to a one-roomed, four persons to a two-
roomed, six to a three-roomed, and eight to a four-roomed
dwelling. Starting from this basis, it may fairly be
argued that an addition of one person to the occupants of
each of the first three classes of tenements, and of two to
the fourth would not represent gross overcrowding. Now,
in Bradford (Yorkshire), which is selected as a typical
overcrowded town, there were, at the date of the 1901
Census,

783 persons occupying one-roomed tenements, 3 to a

tenement.
6,230 persons occupying two-roomed tenements, 5 to a

tenement.
7,952 persons occupying three-roomed tenements, 7 to

a tenement.
4,783 persons occupying four-roomed tenements, 9 and

10 to a tenement.

19,748

Thus out of the 40,896 overcrowded inhabitants of this
city, 19,748 fell in the class of comparatively mild over-
crowding, reducing the percentage of those living under
more extreme conditions from 14' 61 to 7'55. Such an
analysis, worked out for all overcrowded districts, would
probably reveal the fact that the worst kind of overcrowd-
ing, the sort which the newspapers delight in sketching
before the eyes of their readers, is of much less extent
in the towns than it is common to assume. But any kind
of overcrowding is regrettable, and, in indicating the lines

OVERCROWDING 65

of such an investigation, my object is solely to point out
that the extent of the grosser forms of the evil is not so
great as to entirely discourage hope of successful treatment.

In studying overcrowding statistics, more emphasis,
perhaps, should be laid upon the extent of that portion
of the overcrowded population which is in excess of the
accommodation provided in the dwellings so occupied;
certainly the evil appears more manageable when this is
done. To illustrate, Bradford contained. 40,896 over
crowded persons (1901) ; the dwellings occupied by these
would have accommodated 29,766 without overcrowding,
the mischief being caused, therefore, by an excess of
11,130 persons, representing 3'97 per cent, of the total
population. Omitting the less severe cases of overcrowd-
ing,1 the number falls to 7,816 and the percentage to 2' 79,
so that 2*79 per cent, of the population produced all the
serious overcrowding that existed within the limits of the
city at the date of the last Census. Dr. Hamer's report,
in 1899, as Assistant Medical Officer of Health to the
London County Council, drew attention to another fact,
very important if it be at all characteristic, and which
should be studied alongside of the foregoing, namely, that
in certain London parishes (St. Pancras and Kensington)
about one third of the cases of overcrowding in tenements
arose from misuse of the space available, that is to say,
by a rearrangement of the sleeping accommodation, with-
out any displacement of families, overcrowding could have
been reduced by that amount.

Additional encouragement is to be derived from the
comparison of the statistics of the last two censuses, which
shows not only a general decrease in the percentage of
urban overcrowding but also, in numerous towns, an actual
decrease in amount.

1. See above.
F

5
f4t>?<Or4t9r*r*r4 \ ^ ^ + ^ ,4' + c,"

* •-« O5 O5 krcD t>^a5 lcoc'C<l t>O OO ^tO CCttCGOt~cr*

ft I~lO'-l-*OO^-OltNOO(NOiOOtDOOCO(NeOCJ5Oll>.'*CS-*<Nr-(i— I
r-t <N r-l i-H ,-H (N TH O CO r-H CD r-l

O r-t <N r-l i-H ,-H (N TH O CO r-H CD r-l <N <M

^ O C^O^OOOC^i— lOlOOOCOCOPOC^OCOOTCOC^CJlCCOOOO^M^l^OOOWCOt^-OtO^i-H CO

tS • O5O"-HTt<COCOC<IOOOi— Ir— l•^OOOCDOOOcD•^CDCDt^•TtlCD»Ot>•^^'—^^^t^O^•^C<^»O ^

10 cc

g< OOQOCOQOOOi— lO5COr^t^OOC^i-Hr-lCOa5OCOO5t^O

PH ® rHr-H (M CO X* CO rH O r-< r-l CS lOC^(Nr-l r-tr^rHrHfNrH r-lr-l

~ _g,O O Og O5§O5t>-(MOO<M(Nr-<O50br-H

1-3 H * fc|*

« 8 ...

Jl fc.

O «g &0

w-ra

T^OO^C^T^It^t^t^OOOOOC^IMCM^
rHlOiOO5-^»OC^CDOO5(MOrHa>OCOOO5COCC)t^r-lOi-t O

^ •

! iM M : M M M Ml M M

OVERCROWDING 67

Out of the thirty-five important towns (counting the
administrative county of London as one) included in the
above table, Nottingham alone showed an increased per-
centage, but even this was very slight ('03), and the over-
crowding of that city still stood, in 1901, at the very
moderate level of 3'65 per cent. Only seven of the towns
named exhibited an actual increase in the amount of
overcrowding, these being Gateshead, Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, Sunderland, West Ham, Nottingham, Croydon, and
Portsmouth : Gateshead and West Ham were really the
only conspicuous instances. In each of the remaining
twenty-eight towns, a decrease in the number of over-
crowded persons, often quite striking, had taken place,
though, in but one case (Huddersfield), had the population
diminished. In London, for example, there were, in 1901,
103,669 overcrowded persons less than in 1891, and this
notwithstanding an increase in population of 324,798.
The table certainly evidences a general decrease in the
urban overcrowding of this country, its testimony being
corroborated by the more general statistics which follow.

68 TH E HOUSING PROBLEM

From the preceding, an accurate general idea of the
condition of urban housing in 1901 may be gained. Pre-
vious tables have afforded detailed information as to
London, the County Boroughs, and some of the more popu-
lous urban districts that are not county boroughs : these
are now supplemented by the present table which sum-
marises and rearranges the statistics for the metropolis
and the County Boroughs, and at the same time affords
further information concerning the whole of those urban
districts not falling within the two classes just mentioned.
The totals for 1891 are given also, but, in comparing the
two years, it must be remembered that the figures for
1901 are based upon a larger area than those for the earlier
year, owing to the conversion of rural into urban districts.
For the purpose of accurate comparison, the 1891 figures
need to be corrected for the 1901 area; the extent of the
correction may be gauged from the fact that the total
urban population shown in column 11 would, require to be
increased by 899,782. It is regrettable that this correc-
tion does not appear in the report on the last Census.1
However, whatever error there may be in the unconnected
figures, it cannot be enough to alter materially the per-
centages and averages of columns 6, 16, 21, and 36, which
may therefore be used, for purposes of comparison, without
serious qualification : the alterations required in columns
1, 11, 26, and 31 are, without exception, in the form of
increase. The table, as it stands, reveals some most en-
couraging facts. One-roomed tenements formed, in 1901,
but 4^ per cent of all urban tenements, having decreased
from 6'16 per cent, in 1891 ; in spite of the increase of
population, their number diminished by not less than

1. The Table presented is based upon tables appearing on page 22 in
the General Report upon the 1891 Census, and in the Summary Tables of
the 1901 Census (Nos. X., XI. and XIX.).

OVERCROWDING 69

27,609 tenements. But 2 per cent, of the urban popula-
tion lived in such rooms, as compared with 2' 89 per cent,
in 1891. Further, the average number of occupants sank
from 2'24 to 2'03. In urban districts, this class of tene-
ment contained about 100,000 overcrowded persons and
nearly 23,000 overcrowded tenements less than in 1891,
bringing the percentage of urban overcrowding in the
same down from 1'61 to 0'97 per cent. Two-roomed tene-
ments were about stationary in number during the decade,
thereby becoming a less important proportion of urban
dwellings (10'37 per cent, instead of 12'59) ; their occupants
were reduced by nearly a hundred thousand persons. In-
stead of 9'38 per cent., 7'58 per cent, of the urban popula-
tion lived in this kind of tenement, and the average num-
ber of occupants per room decreased from 1'77 to 1'67.
Twenty three thousand less overcrowded tenements, and
over one hundred and fifty three thousand less overcrowded
persons, representing a decrease, on the urban population,
from 4*42 to 3' 13 per cent., mark substantial progress.
It is equally pleasing to find that the numbers of three-
roomed, four-roomed, and larger houses considerably in-
creased, though at the same time the numbers of over-
crowded tenements and persons, at any rate in the three
and four-roomed groups, decreased substantially. The per-
centage of overcrowding (on the total urban population) fell
in the group of three-roomed dwellings from 3'46 to 2'68
per cent., in the group of four-roomed dwellings from 2' 82
to 2'29 per cent. Grouping all classes of dwellings to-
gether, we find that there were, under overcrowded con-
ditions, at least 55,483 tenements and 341,414 persons
less in 1901 than in 1891, representing a decrease of over-
crowded persons from 12'31 to 9'07 per cent, of the urban
population.

Previous reference has been made, in general terms, to

70 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

rural overcrowding, and some of the remarks bearing
specially on urban overcrowding apply also to the former.
As its statistics are studied, the strange way in which rural
overcrowding varies from county to county emphasizes
itself in a very puzzling fashion. From the information
given in the Census county returns, it would be possible
to work out for each county the total amount of over-
crowding in its rural districts, and thus to obtain an exact
idea of the relation of the various counties to one another
in the matter of overcrowding. This is hardly necessary,
however, for the purpose of the writer since a general idea
can be gained from the county percentages actually ap-
pearing in the General Report upon the Census of 1901.
This report gives the percentage of overcrowding in each
administrative county, including the county boroughs, and
also excluding them. The latter figure covers all urban
districts outside of county boroughs as well as the rural
districts and, therefore, forms a by no means accurate
index to the extent of rural overcrowding. Yet it may
still be used, in a rough and ready manner, to mark out the
counties where rural overcrowding is prominent. With
this percentage, then, as the basis of arrangement, the
counties with more than five per cent, of overcrowding in
1901 fall into the following order: — Northumberland
(32-09% of overcrowding), Durham (28'48%), West Riding
of Yorkshire (10'32%), Pembrokeshire (9'72%), Cumberland
(8'53%), Denbighshire (7'89%), Shropshire (7'42%), Stafford-
shire (7-38%), Monmouthshire (7'04%), Flintshire (6'68%),
Angleysey (6'17%), Worcestershire (5'68%), Rutlandshire
(5'31%), Carmarthenshire (5'21%), Middlesex (5'14%),
West Suffolk (5'14%), North Riding of Yorkshire (5'09%),
and Lancashire (5'08%).1 It may be remarked, in passing,

1. London (with 16'01 %) would stand third, but has been excluded
because it contains no rural districts. For verification of these figures
see General Report, Census 1901, Table 42.

OVERCROWDING 71

that in each of these counties the percentage of over-
crowding in 1901 was appreciably lower than that of the
previous census. The assortment of counties to be found
above the dividing line taken of five per cent, is a very
varied one. Detailed statistics of rural overcrowding for
each county will not be attempted here, but a selection has
been made, the study of which may prove profitable. The
percentages given have been calculated from the data of
the 1901 Census, and counties representative of mining,
manufacturing and agriculture, have been included : two
(Middlesex and Buckinghamshire) have been added because
of their proximity to London.

72 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE XVII.

CENSUS (1901) OVERCROWDING IN THE RURAL DISTRICTS

OF CERTAIN COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
LANCASHIRE.

•d «n -d "OTS

9 ^ O »s «„!„,«

Eural District.
Wigan

|
6 045

if 11

606

percentage
=| Population
! Living in
o Overcrowde
Tenements.

- Total No. o
o Inhabited
Jj Tenements.

No. of
2 Overcrowde
Tenements.

Percentage
• Overcrowde
~> Tenements.

Leigh . ..

8 410

695

8'26

1 752

4-45

Limehurst

10 338

747

7'22

2 167

3'69

Whiston

18,961

1 351

7'12

3 311

162

4'89

Burnley

16 589

1 179

7'10

3 656

147

4'02

Warrington

10 496

700

6'66

2 065

4'06

West Lancashire

. .. 26 645

1 493

5'60

5 336

194

3'63

Bury

8,088

421

5'20

1 771

271

Chorley

19 310

950

4'92

3 958

102

2'57

Sefton

9 384

358

3'81

1 798

2'61

Barton-upon-Irwell
Blackburn

8,065
9 828

301

352

3-73

3'58

1,745
2 156

T83
176

Lancaster

8,837

247

279

1 834

179

Clitheroe

6 726

157

2'33

1 440

I'll

Lunesdal©

6 948

153

2'20

1 440

T32

Fylde

11,220

204

T81

2 329

0'94

Ul verston

17,716

313

176

3,769

TOO

Preston

18 429

299

1*62

3 409

0'96

Garstane ..

10,437

115

1-10

2,195

0-63

MIDDLESEX.

Staines 22,629 1,002 4'42 4,597 117 2'54

Uxbridge 17,218 644 374 3,573 85 2"03

South Mimms 2,761 85 3'07 577 10 173

Hendon 8,647 225 2'62 1,705 29 170

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.

Long Crendon 4,388 451 10,28 1,043 58 5'56

Newport Pagnell 19,173 898 4'68 4,487 108 2'43

Buckingham 8,124 368 4'53 2,021 50 2'47

Amersham 13,542 496 3'66 3,072 56 T82

Eton 20,038 718 3'58 4,508 84 T86

Wycombe 25,309 901 3'56 5,853 102 174

Aylesbury 15,622 469 3'00 3,662 61 T66

Winslow 7,034 194 276 1,691 26 1'54

Wing 6,274 142 2'26 1,481 17 1'15

Stratford and Wolverton 8,387 182 2'17 1,881 21 T12

Hambleden 2,139 44 2'05 473 5 1'06

OVERCROWDING

SOMERSET.

Chard

13,300 672

5-05

Glutton

16,599 717

4-32

Wincanton

16,399 676

4-12

Shepton Mallet

9,838 405

4-12

Langport

13,459 478

3-55

Dulverton

4,609 141

3'06

Williton

14,462 427

2-95

Yeovil

17,520 486

277

Bath

27,765 760

273

Wells

10,767 290

2'69

Taunton

17,566 448

2-55

Keynsham

8,269 208

2'51

Long Ashton

15,694 383

2-44

Frome

11,115 237

2-13

Axbridge

23,744 473

1-99

Bridgewater

18,446 307

1'66

Wellington

6;277 81

1-29

DORSET.

Sturminster

8.804 362

4-11

Wareham and Purbeck...

10,590 428

4-04

Cerne

5,064 197

3-89

Blandford

8,808 333

3-78

Shaftesbury

10,928 412

377

Bridport

6,998 261

373

Wevmouth

7,884 278

3-53

Dorchester

9,479 283

2-98

Beaminster

9,184 260

2-83

Sherborne

5,725 152

2-66

Wrimborne and Cranborne

13,414 228

1-70

Poole

4,779 43

0'90

PEMBROKESHIRE.

Pembroke

8,859 1,368

15'44

Haverfordwest

22,014 2,926

13-29

Narberth

12,107 1,170

9'66

Llanfyrnach

2,473 155

6-27

Saint Dogmells

8,252 331

4-01

LEICESTERSHIRE.

Ashby de la Zouch

14,447 879

6-08

Market Bosworth

18,549 995

5-36

Hallaton

1,925 59

3-06

Billesdon

6,172 178

2-88

Melton Mowbray

14,814 424

2-86

Lutterworth

9,448 260

2-75

Blaby

16,569 433

2-61

Castle Donington

6,223 149

2-39

Belvoir

3,459 82

2-37

Market Harborough

7,250 165

2-27

Hinckley

12,636 256

2-02

Barrow-upon-Soar

21,623 429

1-98

Loughborough

4,387 78

1-78

3,087
3,804
4,055
2,307
3,267
1,044
3,316
4,182
6,149
2,260
3,968
1,806
3,474
2,662
5,511
4,287
1,478

2,067
2,558
1,214
2,088
2,633
1,737
1,879
2,013
2,206
1,353
3,163
1,086

1,881
5,022
2,865
631
2,276

3,146
4,056

488
1,439
3,476
2,409
3,564
1,454

861
1,737
2,723
4,761
1,033

2-49

2-23

1-95

1-99

•74

•72

•51

•39

•53

•64

•29

•38

•35

•05

•07

0-91

0-68

2-23

2-07

1-98

1-92

1-97

178

1-81

1-59

1-54

1-40

0-85

0-55

192

10-21

429

8-54

172

6-00

3-33

2-15

110

3-49

118

2-91

1-64

1'46

1-52

1-49

1-46

1-17

1-16

1-09

1-25

1'05

0-87

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Tynemouth

20 922

7 989

Norham & Islandshires.
Morpeth

6,054
14,832

2,234
5,347

Belford

5 198

1 859

Glendale

8 770

2 894

Alnwick

12,516

3 953

Hexham

27 640

8 119

Bellingham

6 341

1 663

Castle Ward

9 297

2 119

Haltwhistle

8,502

1 672

Rothburv .

4,691

918

CUMBERLAND.

Longtown 6,676 1,212 18'15 1,439 181 12'58

Brampton 8,785 795 9'05 1,928 103 5'34

Carlisle 17,381 1,406 8'09 3,626 195 5'38

Alston with Garrigill .... 3,134 253 8'07 788 35 4'44

Cockermouth 21,690 1,551 7'10 4,438 197 4'44

Whitehaven 13,317 591 4'44 2,662 72 270

Wigton 11,449 306 2'67 2,510 40 T59

Penrith 13,023 291 2'23 2,765 38 1'37

Bootle 5,467 28 0'51 1,117 3 0'27

NORTHUMBERLAND.

38-18 4,168 1,204 28'88

36'90 1,358 371 27'32

36-05 2,808 772 27'49

35-76 1,136 279 24'56

33-00 1,969 445 22'60

31-58 2,723 607 22'29

29-37 5,894 1,147 19'46

26-22 1,327 233 17'56

22-79 1,858 312 16-79

19-66 1,809 246 13'60

19-57 1,043 135 11*98

Generally speaking, the agricultural counties in the
above table do not show the same tendency towards a high
percentage of overcrowding as those counties which have
obtained considerable manufacturing and, particularly,
mining development. This is to be seen in the case of
Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, Leicestershire, etc., though the
two latter counties are not to be considered so purely
agricultural, perhaps, as the first-named. In the manu-
facturing counties, a similar difference is often, though
not uniformly, found to occur between the manufacturing
and agricultural portions of a county. In Lancashire, the
rural district of Wigan — a coal-mining area — shows a con-
siderably heavier percentage than the non-mining areas :
its neighbour in the table is Leigh, another mining dis-
trict. Northumberland's position is literally astonishing,
and is not approached by that of any other county except
Durham. The amount of overcrowding in the rural dis-
tricts of these unfortunate counties is positively astonishing.
What has contributed to bring about this condition ? Has

OVERCROWDING 75

the nature of the prevalent industry — coal-mining —
tended to lower the standard of comfort in house room, or
has its system of organisation with night and day shifts
enabled families to dwell in smaller houses than they
might otherwise find necessary? Has there been any
peculiarity in the system of property owning that would
act in the same direction? Has there been any special
laxity of local administration ? It seems to the writer im-
portant that a local investigation along these and other
lines should be instituted so that answer may be made to
these queries, and certainly it is a wise policy to ascertain
causes before applying remedies.1 Cumberland and
Pembrokeshire are further counties in the table whose
statistics reveal a surprising amount of rural overcrowd-
ing, in certain areas at any rate, though these counties
differ in their industrial environment from coal-mining
counties like Northumberland and Durham. The counties
of Middlesex and Buckinghamshire, which have been in-
cluded in the table on account of their proximity to
London, do not seem to have been influenced by that fact
into any marked degree of overcrowding. The latter

1. Whatever may be the causes influencing them in or forcing them to
the choice, the occupiers of small houses (i.e., houses with less than five
rooms) in Northumberland and Durham certainly demand this type of
house to an unusually large degree. The following figures taken from
the last Census report and covering the counties included in Table XVII.,
with the addition of Durham, evidence this fact.

Urban and Rural. Urban. Rural.

Tenements Tenements Tenements

with with with

Administrative. Total less than Total less than Total less than

County. Tenements. 5 rooms. Tenements. 5 rooms. Tenements. 5 rooms.

Durham 240,490 186,215 175,108 134,031 65,382 52,184

125,223 97,486 99,130 77,951 26,093 19,535

Northumberland

Lancaster

Leicestershire . .

Middlesex

Somerset .

Buckinghamshire

Dorset

Cumberland ..

913,581 452,366 866,235 434,727 47,346 17,639

96,348 24,829 65,201 12,968 31,147 11,861

165,974 62,656 155,522 58,996 10,452 3,660

99,205 32,703 42,548 13,294 56,657 19,409

44,873 16,077 14,701 3,804 30,172 12,273

45,005 14,838 21,008 5,393 23,997 9,445

55,623 24,258 34,350 15,831 21,273 8,427

Pembroke 19,796 8,988 7,121 2,700 12,675 6,288

76 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

county, however, affords one of those curious anomalies,
the explanation of which must await the time when each
one can be separately analysed and explained. I refer to
the case of the rural district of Long Crendon, whose
10'28 per cent, of overcrowding in 1901 so greatly ex-
ceeded that of any of the other rural districts in that
county.1

There is no doubt but that, in certain instances, rural
overcrowding is of an aggravated character, but, taken as
a whole, it is, as one would expect, not so intense as that
of the towns, and, like the latter, underwent a considerable
decrease during the past censal decade. The general
statistics inserted below will substantiate this, though, in
comparing the figures for 1891 and 1901, the warning
given in connection with Table XVI. must be borne in
mind — in this case even more carefully as the 899,782
persons concerned form a much greater proportion of the
rural than of the larger urban population. In all prob-
ability, the improvement was somewhat less marked than
the comparison infers.

1. An analysis of the housing statistics of Long Crendon, as given in
the Census Report of 1901 gives the following result.

|5« Number of Tenements Details of Overcrowded

HH H'$C of 1, 2, 3, or 4 rooms. fc^O fcPnO Houses.

1043 576 1- room tenements — 6 1 31 tenement with 3 persons.

2-room tenements— 119 24 152 10 tenements with 5 ; 5 with

6; 4 with 7; 4 with 8;
1 with 12 or more.

3-room tenements — 121 18 152 5 tenements with 7; 7 with

8 ; 1 with 9 ; 4 with 10 ;
1 with 12 or more.

4-room tenements — 330 15 144 9 tenements with 9; 3 with

10; 3 with 11.

Total ............ 576 58 451

These figures seem to indicate family overcrowding. Probably the
rural district of Long Crendon has its full share of large-sized families ;
4'47 % out of the 10'28 % of overcrowding occurs in 2-room tenements
with 5 occupants, 3-room tenements with 7 occupants, and 4-room tene-
ments with 9 and 10 occupants.

[hlff

yiii

^ AH H

•*

i-H

?*H

g i

111!

O5
i-H

co"

•T*<

CO*"
CO

i i1

^-T

O5
id

»-H 0

c/r

•2> S

.ml

i-H
O

00
CO

la||s

oo"

i-H

P
z

r'jjf

O5
OO

i-H

•^

til

«Ja

CO
CO

o
1— t

HH
HH
HH

if!*
HI l

O5
00

o
o

i-H

IIP

O5
00
1— 1

CO
<M

05
O

l-H

^
W

CO
i-H

co"

i-H

l-H

fr^

H o

l-H

oo"

«M"

oo"

0«

<«

O5
OO

f5
I

Q ^

^"*

O S

•'

i-H

II
if

f— r

O5
00

•H

CO
l-H

H
Pjj

l-H

co"

i-H

78 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

As just stated, the table reveals that the diminution
in overcrowding noticed in the case of the urban districts
also took place in rural parts. In 1901, only 1 in every
17 of the rural population lived in an overcrowded con-
dition (5*84 per cent., or less than half a million people),
undoubtedly a considerable decrease upon the 1891 aver-
age, whatever the exact corresponding figures may be.
An advance in rural housing conditions is further indicated
by the fact that, during the decade, the number of
larger tenements, five or more rooms, increased by sixty
thousand, though the increase in the number of inhabitants
of such houses only amounted to one hundred thousand
persons; in this class of house there was evidently less
pressure upon living space at the end of the decade than
at the beginning. It should be noted, further, that, in
1901, nearly 63 per cent, of the entire rural population
dwelt in these larger houses, and only 4'16 per cent, in
tenements of less than three rooms, figures which show a
general superiority over urban housing, in whose tene-
ments of five or more rooms 58'22 per cent, of the urban
population dwelt, and in whose one and two room tene-
ments 9'58 per cent. In taking the general average, it
will be observed that the percentage of overcrowding
amongst the rural population in 1901 figured out at 5'84,
amongst the urban 8*20 per cent.

The information deducible from the two previous tables
has been somewhat lacking in precision owing to the fact
that the statistics of 1891 have had to remain uncorrected
for the 1901 areas, but, in the third of the series which is
now given, this factor of error does not enter, as it covers
the whole of England and Wales, the total area of which
has remained unchanged. But the conclusions derived
from the preceding brief study of the separate urban and
rural statistics and from the earlier study of the individual
metropolitan and county boroughs and large urban dis-
tricts are fully confirmed in this table.

§ s

i-H l-l CO

s^s

III

CO t- •*

o t«- o

828

i I

CD ^

_| O -H -H

fc2H-§,

sjj

i-H

•^

00 •

i-H

c»

® "c S

l-H

c? c5 ®

l-H

fc OB
•V] •+*

M o

5J!

5 .1
£5 Cj

tifl

CO
CD

00
O5

i-H

M l-H

Q g

| og §

£ 3

^•55?

. ^

i— (

o
o

O rrH,

f §

CO
CD

06"
o

i-H

CD
g

° 1
1 I

i-H
O5

co"

CD
-*

O5
CO

05~
i-H

co"

l-H

°0.

co"

l-H

l-l

O
O5

CO
CO

§0 1

® §

c»

fc H

<s>
o

i-H

i-H
§

o
06"

co"

o
co"

•g

s
fc

O5
OO

CD"

£>.
O5
CD

co"

OO
CO

o
o

CO
l-H

»H

c<f

co"

•

•-H

8o THE HOUSING PROBLEM

From 1891 to 1901, a really noteworthy improvement in
housing conditions took place. To merely state that the
percentage of overcrowding throughout the country at
large fell from 11'23 per cent, to 8"2 hardly emphasises
sufficiently the change brought about, and I may point
out that this means that in 1901 there were nearly six
hundred thousand persons less, living in overcrowded tene-
ments, and nearly ninety thousand overcrowded tenements
less than in 1891. At the later date, the overcrowded
population had sank to a little over two and a half million
persons out of a total of thirty-two and a half millions.
The tenements occupied by these two and a half million
persons would have accommodated, without overcrowding,
all but 723,000 persons, so that the overcrowding was
caused by 2'2 per cent, of the population. The one-room
dwellings represented only 1'56 per cent, of the total tene-
ments, two-room dwellings 6' 64 per cent.; about one-fourth
of the former class remained overcrowded, and somewhat
less than one-fourth of the latter. On perusing the table,
one is struck by the fact that there is a diminished per-
centage1 in all classes of tenements of from one to four
rooms, but an appreciable increase in that of those con-
taining five rooms or more.

It is a pleasant task to have to record so universal a
movement towards the diminution of overcrowding, and
students of social phenomena will impatiently await the
arrival of the next Census to ascertain whether it con-
tinues. The noting of the movement is much easier than
the analysing of its cause. The forces which may in-
fluence housing conditions in one way or another are so
numerous, and, in some cases, so indirect in their action
that the difficulty of arriving at a definite and clear-cut

1. This, of course, is quite consistent with the fact that, in the case
of three and four-room houses, there is an actual increase in number.

OVERCROWDING 81

conclusion is greatly increased. So far as I have been
able to pursue my investigations, one of the really im-
portant factors in the improvement achieved has been a
stricter and more careful administration of the sanitary
laws. Of course, administrative progress has not been
limited to the last few years, but has been a matter of
growth extending over a number of decades. Still it is
likely that the full effect of this progress has been felt
more in the past half generation than ever before. In-
deed, one need hardly hesitate to say that administrative
efficiency in sanitary matters has made far greater strides
during this period than in previous ones, inasmuch as the
attention of the public and of the central and local govern-
ments has been called to the housing evils, existing in our
midst, in a way that it has been impossible to ignore. The
publicity given to the housing question, dating back
practically to the time when the Royal Commission of
1884-5 held its enquiry, has stimulated the administrative
authorities into activity, leading them to seek out the
nature of their legal rights and powers, and to make use of
the same. Fortunately, they found to their hand a most
comprehensive set of enactments, for the sanitary law had
long included penalties against overcrowding, whose
effectiveness had never been really tested because they had
barely been made use of. Besides regulations for the sup-
pression of overcrowding, the law included numerous
statutes dealing with the reconstruction of insanitary
areas, and with the construction of new house property by
the municipal authorities, but little use had been made of
the latter, and the former, though receiving better atten-
tion, met with practical failure so far as the object of their
application was to destroy the centres of evil housing, for
as one was removed another sprang up : in any case, the
comparatively little that was attempted under these powers

82 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

could have been of small moment in influencing improve-
ment in overcrowding. As interest in the housing
problem grew, it was thought desirable to consolidate into
one statute as far as practicable, the whole of the law deal-
ing directly with bad housing, and thus there came to be
recorded in the statute book the well-known Housing of
the Working Classes Act of 1890. What part has this Act
played in the decrease of overcrowding? The Act, it will
be observed, opened the decade in which a great improve-
ment in housing conditions took place, and it would seem
reasonable to conclude that the latter is the result of the
former. But is it so? No doubt the Act has had a bene-
ficial effect in that it simplified the law and made access
to it easier, and in that it has been a means of calling more
attention to the housing problem, but its actual effect in
reducing overcrowding during the decade 1891 — 1901 can
have been but small, for little use was made of its pro-
visions during the greater part of the decade.

Further, the diminution in overcrowding that occurred
was by no means restricted to towns that had placed the
Housing Act of 1890 in action but extended equally to
some in which it had been practically ignored during the
decade. Whatever effect the application of that Act may
have upon the conditions of the present or succeeding
decades, there is scarcely substantial reason to ascribe to
it much influence over the favourable movement of the
one that has passed. This is not to say that the Act of
1890 is useless or undesirable, but simply a recognition
of what I believe to be the truth, namely, that the decrease
observed was mainly due to greater efficiency of adminis-
tration of the sanitary law, and only incidentally to the
sparing use made of special housing legislation previous
to the spring of 1901. In my opinion, there was, however,
another factor which has been favourable to progress,

OVERCROWDING 83

namely, the industrial prosperity of the nation in the
period preceding the 1901 Census, particularly in so far
as it affected the poorest classes. If I am not mistaken,
there was a period of commercial depression about the
time of the 1891 Census, whereas that of 1901 was taken
in a period of considerable prosperity, and it is likely that
this conduced to a lessening of overcrowding. If the con-
ditions had been reversed, housing improvement would
have been less marked, and, as we are liable to have
alternating periods of good and bad trade, the extent of
progress made between 1891 and 1901 cannot necessarily
be assumed for subsequent decades. But, however this
may be, there can be no disputing the fact that the
people's standard of comfort in living has steadily
advanced, so that, as a whole, they refuse to be satisfied
with the level of housing comfort with which they were
once content, and, in so far as this force will continue to
operate, there will exist a steady stimulus towards the
decrease of overcrowding.

Consistently with the size of this volume, enough has
been said about the present housing condition of the poorer
classes of England, and the next question that presents
itself naturally to the mind of the student is as to the
method of remedying this condition in so far as it is
unsatisfactory. In endeavouring to ascertain the proper
answer to this question, it would seem appropriate to give
attention, first of all, to the history of past attempts to
devise a remedy, as manifested in the action of the national
legislature, and the consequent results. If, in doing this,
I err on the side of prolixity of detail, the apology must
be the fact that there is room for careful treatment, and
further that the study of past history is most useful for
the future social reformer or legislator, for it is still true
that "History repeats itself."

PART II.

THE COURSE OF HOUSING LEGISLA-
TION AND ITS UTILISATION IN
ENGLAND.

CHAPTER IY.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEGISLATIVE ACTION.

Though, the extent of grossly defective and inadequate
house accommodation in England is not quite so enormous
as is sometimes supposed, still it is sufficiently great to
cause the enquiry whether serious efforts have been made
in the past to remedy the conditions. Prior to the last
fifty or sixty years, the reply must have been in the
negative, but it does not follow therefore that unstinted
abuse should be poured upon the heads of the authorities
of those earlier days for their neglect. There has always
been an unsatisfactory state of housing among the poorest
classes — certainly, from a sanitary point of view — and so
always a housing problem in some form or other. Yet,
under the old domestic system of industry, before home
employment had been supplanted by the factory, when
the towns were far less crowded and the population more
rural, and when it was a common thing for the family to
divide their work and time between the field and the loom,
the sanitary evils of indoor life were made, to some extent
at least, less baneful by the greater healthfulness of out-
door life. But with the change from the old to the new
economic system, characterised by a phenomenal develop-
ment of industrial activity, by a rapid growth in popula-
tion, and by the centralisation of industry and labour in
the towns, new conditions were established, one result of
which was to render the provision of proper and adequate
house accommodation much more difficult and yet, by
reason of the very number of people crowding together
into the small working areas, of more vital importance

88 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

than ever to the physical, industrial, and moral welfare
of the people. That the nation hardly anticipated the
economic revolution which took place at the end of the
eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries,
and therefore was, for a time, unprepared to cope with
the new organisation of society, is not at all surprising —
it is far easier to be wise after the event than before. As
the nineteenth century advanced, however, Parliament
began to realize that something would have to be done
towards the amelioration of living conditions, and hence
attempted to devise a scheme of sanitary regulation that
would meet the exigencies of the situation. Such legisla-
tion, more or less hastily thrown together to meet the
need of the moment, could be only of a temporary nature,
and. it was not until the middle of the century was past
that a really determined movement towards the improve-
ment of the housing of the working classes was inaugur-
ated. The history of this movement it is my purpose to
trace, and it will be plainly evidenced that, since 1851,
the legislature has devoted a very large amount of time
and energy to the consideration of the housing problem.
In analysing that series of enactments which is described
under the general title of housing legislation, it appears
that a policy of both destruction and construction has been
adopted. In other words, the legislation has been framed
to secure the removal of evil conditions, and at the same
time to provide accommodation in lieu of or in addition
to the existing supply : in either case it has necessarily
been intimately associated with the sanitary laws.
Attempts to improve or to extend housing facilities are
of no great value unless due sanitary regulations a,re
enforced, and a preventive check placed upon overcrowding
and the formation or expansion of slum conditions. Ac-
cordingly, attention will be directed briefly to those

LEGISLATIVE ACTION

portions of the sanitary law which are closely related to
the housing enactments.

Though but half a century has elapsed since 1851, quite
a considerable mass of legislation, bearing in some way
or other upon housing matters, has accumulated, as may
be readily seen from the appended table.

TABLE XX.
LIST OF HOUSING AND BELATED ACTS, 1851 — 1903.

Nature

Establishment of lodging houses for the work-
ing classes — Shaftesbury Act.

Removal of nuisances — consolidating Act.

The facilitating of the formation of com-
panies for the erection of dwellings.

Removal of nuisances — amends 18 and 19
Viet. c. 121.

Powers granted to the Public Works Loan
Commissioners to make advances towards
the erection of dwelling houses for the
labouring classes.

Treasury authorised to advance a certain sum
out of the consolidated fund for the pur-
poses of the 29 and 30 Viet. c. 28.

Sanitary Act — amends 18 and 19 Viet. c. 121,
and 23 and 24 Viet. c. 77.

Amends 29 and 30 Viet. c. 28, facilitating
such advances.

Torrens Act — improvement (or demolition) of
existing dwellings.

Public Health Act — rearranges sanitary ad-
ministrative areas and deals with the ap-
pointment of medical officers of health.

The facilitating of the erection of dwellings
for working men on municipal lands.

Amends 35 and 36 Viet. c. 79.

Cross Act — improvement of large insanitary
areas by demolition and reconstruction.

Public Health Act — consolidates previous sani-
tary enactments relating to the provinces :
still in force.

Amends 38 and 39 Viet. c. 36 (Cross Act).

Amends 31 and 32 Viet. c. 130 (Torrens Act).

Public Works Loans Act — contains provisions
empowering the Public Works Loan Com-
missioners to advance monies to companies
and associations.

Municipal Corporations Act — consolidating :
Part V. § 111 facilitates the conversion of
portions of municipal lands into sites for
workmen's dwellings.

* In this same year, an Act was also passed for the regulation of
common lodging houses (14 and 15 Viet. c. 28) afterwards amended by
the 16 and 17 Viet c. 41.

Act Date

14 and 15 Viet. c. 34* 1851

18 and 19 Viet. c. 121 1855
18 and 19 Viet. c. 132 1855

23 and 24 Viet. c. 77 1860
29 and 30 Viet. c. 28 1866

29 and 30 Viet. c. 72 1866

29 and 30 Viet. c. 90 1866

30 and 31 Viet, c. 28 1867

31 and 32 Viet. c. 130 1868
35 and 36 Viet. c. 79 1872

37 and 38 Viet, c. 59 1874

37 and 38 Viet. c. 89

38 and 39 Viet. c. 36

1874
1875

38 and 39 Viet. c. 55 1875

42 and 43 Viet. c. 63
42 and 43 Viet. c. 64
42 and 43 Viet. c. 77

1879
1879
1879

45 and 46 Viet. c. 50 1882

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE XX.— continued.

Act Date

45 and 46 Viet. c. 54 1882

48 and 49 Viet. c. 72 1885

53 and 54 Viet. c. 16 1890

53 and 54 Viet. c. 59 1890

53 and 54 Viet. c. 70 1890

54 and 55 Viet. c. 76 1891
57 and 58 Viet. c. 55f 1894

62 and 63 Viet. c. 44 1899

63 and 64 Viet. c. 59 1900
3 Ed. vii. cap 39 1903

Nature

Artizans Dwellings Act — amends both the
Torrens and the Cross Acts.

Housing of the Working Classes Act — amends
the Shaftesbury, Torrens, and Cross Acts.

Facilitates the giving of land for dwellings
for the working classes in populous places.

Public Health Acts Amendment Act — amends
the 1875 Act.

Housing of the Working Classes Act — con-
solidates and amends the Shaftesbury,
Torrens, and Cross Ants : still in force.

Public Health Act — consolidates the sanitary
law relating to London : still in force.

Housing of the Working Classes Act — ex-
tends borrowing powers exercised under
Part II. of the 53 and 54 Viet. c. 70.

Small Dwellings Acquisition Act — enables
local authorities to advance monies for the
purchase of small dwellings by their
occupiers.

Housing of the Working Classes Act — amends
Part III. of the 53 and 54 Viet. c. 70 :
enables land to be acquired outside of the
area of jurisdiction of the local authority.

Housing of the Working Classes Act — •
amends 1890 Act in several particulars.

There have not been included in the above list the
special enactments for Scotland and Ireland, as these but
repeat the substance of the English Acts. Under the
present law, the same Act provides for the application of
its powers to all parts of the United Kingdom.

But two chapters can be devoted to an analysis of this
extensive body of legislation and obviously much will have
to be omitted. Since, however, the statutes are practically
accessible to everyone, details can be filled in at will by
the student. Of the two chapters, the first one will sum-
marize the legislation dealing with the extension of house
building, the second that dealing with the betterment of
sanitary and housing conditions and with the rehousing
incident thereto.

t The London Building Acts of 1894 and 1898 may also be mentioned
as bearing upon the method of construction of working-class dwellings.
Some of the provincial towns have local building Acts, but generally
building bye-laws are made under the powers of the 1875 and 1890
Public Health Acts.

CHAPTER Y.

THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH LEGISLATION BEARING UPON THE
EXTENSION OF HOUSING ACCOMMODATION FOR THE
WORKING CLASSES.

The credit of initiating the long series of legislative
enactments dealing with constructive housing must be
ascribed to the celebrated Lord Shaftesbury, whose name
is indissolubly connected with the social reform movement
of the mid-nineteenth century. In 1851, he secured the
passing of a permissive Act generally known by the name
of the " Labouring Classes Lodging Houses Act," l or,
more popularly, perhaps, " Shaftesbury's Act/' the inten-
tion of which was to provide for the erection and main-
tenance, in towns and populous districts, of well-ordered
lodging houses for the working classes, or for the con-
version of existing buildings into such. The principal
features of the Act that interest the student of housing
legislation are (1) the power of the local authority (with
the consent of the central authority to which it was amen-
able) to appropriate its own lands or to purchase, by
voluntary agreement, other lands, with the property
standing thereon ; (2) the power to convert existing build-
ings into lodging houses and to erect new buildings;2 (3)
the power to borrow, on the security of the rates, for these
purposes either from the Public Works Loan Fund or
elsewhere; (4) the power to sell property thus acquired, if
found too expensive after a seven years' trial. The ex-
penses of carrying the Act into execution were to be
charged upon the rates. In the bye-laws drafted by the

1. 14 and 15 Viet. c. 34.

2. Including power to fit up and furnish. See Sect. 36 of Act.

92 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

local authority, provision was to be made for securing the
due separation at night of men and boys above eight years
old from women and girls, which seems to indicate that an
important function of the lodging houses operated under
this Act was to be the lodging and boarding of single per-
sons, though families were also anticipated as tenants.1

In this same year was passed the Common Lodging
House Act,2 another of Lord Shaftesbury's measures, the
object of which was to secure the due management, regula-
tion, and inspection of common lodging houses : it was
amended in 1853. 3 These places have proved to be very
largely the resort of the idle, the dissolute, and the
criminal, though, no doubt, a sprinkling of the honest poor
may be found among them, but they are by no means
desirable homes, if that word can rightly be used in this
connection, for the latter class.4 Under present conditions,
such houses have a definite place in the social economy of
towns and cities, inasmuch as they provide shelter for a
certain proportion of the poor — the residuum.

If one may presume to interpret for their author, the
object of the two enactments, it would seem to have been
the separation of the idle or irregularly working (and, as
a matter of fact, the irregularly moral) class of the poor
from the artisan or regularly employed, the former to be
provided for in the common lodging house, the latter in
the labouring classes lodging house which was intended

1. The receipt of poor relief, other than temporary sick relief, was
made an absolute disqualification for tenancy — a provision which became
a permanent feature of subsequent legislation.

2. 14 and 15 Viet. c. 28.

3. 16 and 17 Viet. c. 41.

4. The Rowton cubicle lodging houses, started in 1892 by a gift of
£30,000 from Lord Eowton (a company being formed in 1894), represent
a great step in advance of the ordinary type of common lodging house.
There are now half a dozen of these houses in London. The common
lodging houses owned and managed by several municipalities are also of
high grade.

BUILDING LEGISLATION 93

to be, perhaps, a cross between a "block dwelling" and an

"artisan's home."

Under the Labouring Classes Lodging Houses Act, the
local authorities alone were enabled to act, but Parlia-
ment soon deemed it advisable to open up further facilities
to private or philanthropic enterprise, which had already
found a beginning in the formation of the Metropolitan
Association for Improving the Dwellings of the In-
dustrious Classes, incorporated in 1845. So an Act was
passed in 1855 (The Labourers' Dwellings Act, 1855, 18
and 19 Yict. c. 132) authorising the incorporation of
companies for the erection of dwelling-houses for the
labouring classes, to which end they were empowered to
receive and to acquire (by agreement) the necessary land
(but not more than ten acres without the sanction of the
Committee of Privy Council for Trade), to erect dwellings
on the same, and to let them by the week or month, or to
demise them to lessees for a term of not more than twenty-
one years. Where the dwellings belonging to the
company were to be let only by the week or month, it was
to be allowed to borrow, upon a mortgage of its property,
as soon as half the subscribed capital was paid up, an
amount equal to one-third of such subscription. This was
as far as the Act went, and some years elapsed before the
privilege of borrowing from the Public Works Loan Com-
missioners, granted, in the Shaftesbury Act, to local
authorities, was extended to these private companies and
associations. For a period of eleven years from 1855, the
two Acts constituted the sole contribution of Parliament
to (constructive) housing reform : its attention was
diverted to the interests at stake in the Crimean struggle,
the Indian Mutiny, and the American Civil War. These
Acts clearly marked out two lines of activity which Parlia-
ment recognised and approved, the one municipal, the

94 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

other private, but apparently with this distinction, that
while private enterprise could utilize the facilities offered
in constructing all kinds of working class dwellings, the
local authority was restricted to what may be termed
collective housing: at any rate, the Shaftesbury Act
would have needed a free interpretation if its powers had
been sought to be extended to the construction of in-
dividual cottages. Indeed, in the 1885 Housing Act, it
was found necessary to insert a clause specially denning
the " lodging houses " of the Shaftesbury Act as including
separate dwellings.

So far private enterprise had not received any official
financial help, and, in view of the formation of organisa-
tions similar to those now established — at this time in-
cluding, in addition to the Metropolitan Association, the
Peabody Trustees and the Improved Industrial Dwellings
Company, — and also for the purpose of enabling those
already formed, and many other kinds of private enter-
prise, to do as much work as possible in housing the people,
an Act was passed in 1866 (The Labouring Classes Dwell-
ing Houses Act, 1866, 29 and 30 Viet. c. 28) widely extend-
ing the powers of the Public Works Loan Commissioners
in making advances : the privileges in this direction,
formerly restricted to local authorities, were now to be
enjoyed by various kinds of companies or associations, and
even by private persons.1 The Treasury was given the
power of prescribing the mode of providing for the main-
tenance, repair and insurance of dwellings erected by

1. The Commissioners were empowered to make loans to any local
authority, to any commission appointed under Shaftesbury's Act (14 and
15 Viet. c. 34), to any railway, dock, harbour, trading or manufacturing
company, and to any private person possessing land either in fee simple,
or for a term of years absolute, provided fifty years of the term re-
mained unexpired (Section 4). The rate of interest was somewhat high,
four per cent, being fixed as the minimum, and forty years as the
maximum period of repayment.

BUILDING LEGISLATION 95

means of public funds. The advances were to be secured
by a mortgage of the rates, or of the estate or interest in
the land and dwellings upon which a loan was granted, and
in case the security was land or dwellings solely the ad-
vance was not to exceed one half of the value of the same.
To give practical effect to this measure, a further Act was
passed shortly afterwards (29 and 30 Yict. c. 72), author-
ising the Treasury to advance out of the Consolidated
Fund, to the account of the Commissioners for the reduc-
tion of the National Debt who were the trustees of the
Public Works Loan Fund, an amount not exceeding
£250,000 for the purposes of the previous Act. In con-
nection with the earlier Act, it should be noted that by
an amendment of the following year, the mortgage terms
were made somewhat less stringent.1

Several years elapsed before Parliament took any
further action in the direction of stimulating constructive
housing, its attention being given in the meantime
to sanitary improvement and supervision.2 A measure
was then enacted of considerable importance, though not
one to which much attention has been drawn by writers
upon housing legislation. The 1851 Act (Shaftesbury's)
already authorised local authorities to appropriate some of
their lands for the building of lodging houses, but no power
had been conferred upon them to lease out such lands as
sites upon which private enterprise might undertake the
erection of the desired class of dwellings. With such a
power at its disposal, a local authority with suitable vacant
land in its possession might be able to stimulate greatly

1. 30 and 31 Viet. c. 28— The Labouring Clauses Dwellings Act, 1867.
This amending Act permitted any land, buildings, or premises, held
together with and for the same estate and interest as the lands, build-
ings, or premises upon which the money advanced was to be expended,
to be offered as security.

2. The first Torrens Act (31 and 32 Viet. c. 130), dealing with the
improvement or demolition of houses unfit for human habitation, was
passed in 1868, and a Public Health Act (35 and 36 Viet. c. 79) in 1872.

96 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

the building of such houses without having to incur the
responsibility and difficulties of house building and
management. This was evidently the purpose of the
Working Men's Dwellings Act of 1874 (37 and 38 Viet. c.
59). Under this Act, municipal corporations, with the
approval of the Treasury, were allowed to make grants or
leases of their land as sites for working men's dwellings,
and, furthermore, they could make such improvements on
the land (roads, drains, walls, fences, etc.) as were
necessary for converting it into building land, at the ex-
pense of the borough fund and rate or out of monies raised
by mortgage. In the grants or leases of such lands, they
could insert provisions guarding against the misuse of the
sites.1 One of the necessary conditions of the grant or
lease of each site was that a working men's dwelling should
be erected thereon according to the plan and specification
filed with the town clerk, and that the site or building
should not be sold or alienated. The dwelling was to be
suitable for persons employed in manual labour and their
families, one of our earliest parliamentary definitions of a
working man by the way, and the use of part of a building
for retail trade or other purposes approved by the corpora-
tion was not to prevent the building being deemed a
dwelling.

The policy of the Torrens Act of 1868 2 was widely ex-
tended, in 1875, by the passing of the Artizans' and
Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act, 38 and 39 Viet.

1. ". . . . provisions binding the grantee or lessee to build thereon as
in the grant or lease prescribed and to maintain and repair the building,
and prohibiting the division of the site or building, and any addition to
or alteration of the character of the building, without the consent of the
corporation, and for the revesting of the site in the corporation, on their
re-entry thereon, on breach of any provision in the grant or lease."
Sect. 4, § 2. It was further specified that should a building be taken
down at any time, the rebuilding must be hi the manner approved by
the corporation.

2. See note (2) on page 95.

BUILDING LEGISLATION 97

c. 36), the first of what are generally termed the Cross
Acts : it provided for the improvement of comparatively
large areas where the conditions of house property were
such as to make demolition and reconstruction desirable.
In the matter of new accommodation, the Act provided
only for suhstitutional housing (" rehousing "), and its
consideration, along with that of its amending Act, passed
in 1879, will more appropriately be dealt with in the
succeeding chapter.

The Torrens Act of 1868 contained no provision for the
construction of additional dwellings, but its amending Act
of 1879 (42 and 43 Yict. c. 64), though dealing chiefly with
the settlement of compensation, distinctly specified one of
the purposes of the Act, in London, to be the provision of
the labouring classes with suitable dwellings by the con-
struction of new buildings, or by the repairing or improve-
ment of existing dwellings, within the jurisdiction of the
local authority : this intention is also evident in the "loan"
clause which prohibited the Public Works Loan Com-
missioners, or, in the case of London, the Metropolitan
Board of Works, from making loans under these Acts ex-
cept for the purpose " of defraying the cost of building
suitable dwellings for the labouring classes, or of defray-
ing the cost of purchasing sites, and of building thereon
such dwellings." 1 Undoubtedly, the main object of this
Act was to provide for the rehousing of those displaced by
improvement orders, but there seems to be nothing in the
text of the Act that would have prevented further applica-
tion of its powers to the extension of working-class ac-
commodation within the boundaries of a metropolitan
local authority. If the interpretation is justifiable, this
enactment, then, represented the recognition, by the

1. Sect. 22 § 2.
H

98 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

national legislature, of a policy of housing reform, in-
volving the metropolitan local authorities not only in
sanitary improvement and consequent rehousing but also
in the extension of dwelling accommodation in general,
for whatever may be the meaning of the phrase " lodging
houses " in the 1851 Act, the "dwellings " of this 18T9 Act
certainly covers both collective and individual housing.
Nor was the recognition a merely formal one, for, as
already noted, an inducement to use the powers conferred
was held out to both local authorities and private bodies in
the form of state loans; the terms were not over favour-
able, however, the period of repayment being restricted to
seven years and the minimum rate of interest being fixed
at 4 per cent. It should be noticed that the legislature did
not contemplate the local authority assuming the per-
manent management of property acquired by it as it re-
served the power to the central government of ordering the
sale of property not disposed of by way of sale, exchange,
lease (99 years) or so on within seven years of its acquisi-
tion. For the purpose of carrying out the Act, the local
authority could levy a special rate up to twopence in the
pound in any year. The only compulsory powers granted
were those for improvement and demolition purposes.

A Public Works Loans Act (42 and 43 Vici c. 77) was
passed in this year (1879) which indicated the existence of
activity among the housing associations and companies,
though the same assertion could hardly be made of the
municipalities. By it l the Peabody Trustees were enabled
to borrow from the Public Works Loan Commissioners a
sum not exceeding £300,000 to be applied by them towards
the purchase of land and the construction thereon of work-
ing class dwellings. The Commissioners had no general

1. The Act dealt with the general powers of the Loan Commissioners,
the housing provisions constituting but a small portion of it.

BUILDING LEGISLATION 99

powers enabling them to advance monies to such a body
as the Trustees of the Peabody Donation Fund. The
general authorisation of the Loan Commissioners to lend
money for the construction of dwellings and the purchase
of the requisite land to any company or association estab-
lished for the construction or improvement of labouring
class dwellings, first given, it will be remembered, in 1866,
was again repeated but the conditions of such loans were
altered. The period of repayment was fixed at fifteen
years, and the maximum rate of interest lowered to 3^ per
cent.

In 1882, an important Municipal Act (45 and 46 Yict.
c. 50) l was passed which consolidated and amended the
law governing English municipal corporations, and, in
Part Y. section one hundred and eleven of this Act, the
powers conferred upon such corporations by the Working
Men's Dwellings Act of 1874 2 were re-enacted. Accord-
ing to the one hundred and twelfth section of the Act,
the Treasury could permit the repayment of loans, in-
curred by the corporation under Part V. either by instal-
ments, or by a sinking fund, or by both methods, operating
over a period of thirty years.

The same year, both the Torrens and the Cross Acts
were again amended by the 45 and 46 Victoria c. 54,
an Act in two parts of which the first dealt with the
Cross Acts of 1875 and 1879, the second with the Torrens
Acts of 1868 and 1879. Both parts are concerned with
demolition and improvement on a larger or smaller scale
and will therefore be considered later.

Two years later, a Royal Commission was appointed
to investigate the housing of the working classes, and
its labours evolved a bulky and important Eeport, pub-

1. The Municipal Corporations Act.

2. Ante p. 96.

ioo THE HOUSING PROBLEM

lished in 1885. 1 The Commission was a thoroughly repre-
sentative one, as will be seen from the following list of
the names of its members: — Sir Chas. W. Dilke (Chair-
man), the Prince of Wales, Cardinal Manning, the Mar-
quess of Salisbury, Earl Brownlow, Baron Carrington,
G. J. Goschen, Sir Ed. Assheton Cross, Wm. Walsham
(Bishop Suffragan of Bedford), the Honourable Ed.
Lyulph Stanley, W. T. McCullagh Torrens, Henry
Broadhurst, Jesse Collings, George Godwin, Samuel
Morley, Sir George Harrison, Edmund Dwyer Gray.
The conclusions of such a body of men were bound to
carry weight, and especially so in view of the thoroughness
with which their investigation was pursued. Their elab-
orate report is so well-known and has so often been
analysed and summarised by writers upon the housing
question that it is unnecessary to attempt it again. For
the purposes of this historical sketch, its importance lies
in the fact that a number of its conclusions were em-
bodied in a new Act that was brought forward and
passed in 1885. 2

The principal function of this Act, which legislated for
the whole of the United Kingdom, was to modernise,
harmonise, and, to some extent, amend the existing
statutes bearing upon the relationship of local authorities
to the improvement and extension of housing property
occupied by the working classes, and consequently there is
to be found in it no direct attempt towards the consolida-
tion of previous legislation. Its repeals chiefly affected
the Shaftesbury Act of 1851, though clauses, or parts of
clauses, were also removed from the 29 and 30 Yict. c. 28,
the 38 and 39 Viet. c. 36, the 42 and 43 Yict. c. 64, and

1. Previously to this, in 1881-82, a Select Committee had sat and had
made important suggestions with regard to the amendment of the
Torrens and Cross Acts, some of which suggestions were adopted in the
1882 Act which resulted.

2. Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1885—48 and 49 Viet. c. 72.

BUILDING LEGISLATION 101

from the 45 and 46 Yict. c. 54, besides from the Irish Acts
of 1866 and 1883, and the Scotch Acts of 1875. The
authorities, by whom the Labouring Classes Lodging
Houses Acts, 1851 — 67, might be adopted, were to be, for
the City of London, the Commissioners of Sewers ; for the
Metropolis, excluding the City, the Metropolitan Board
of Works; for any urban or rural sanitary district, the
sanitary authority of the district. Before a rural sanitary
authority could adopt the Acts, an application was to be
made to the Local Government Board, who would there-
upon hold an inquiry and decide whether a certificate,
permitting the adoption, should be issued. The conditions
upon which the granting of a certificate depended were as
follows: — (1) accommodation must be necessary, in the
area specified by the local authority, for the housing of the
labouring classes ; (2), there must be no probability of such
accommodation being provided without the execution of
the Acts which it was desired to put into operation; (3), with
due regard to the liability which would be incurred by the
rates, it must be, under all the circumstances, prudent for
the local authority to undertake the provision of the
desired accommodation under the powers of the Acts.
Even when the certificate had been granted, the actual
adoption was not to take place (unless in case of an
emergency, and then only with the express sanction of
the Local Government Board) before the next ordinary
election of members of the local authority concerned, and
should, within twelve months after the issue of the certifi-
cate, the Acts not have been adopted, a fresh certificate
was to be applied for. All acquisition of land and erection
of buildings were to be made strictly within the area
mentioned in the certificate. After application by the
rural sanitary authority, the Local Government Board
could, if they so wished, make an order levying the ex-

102 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

penses upon a part alone of the district of the rural
authority instead of upon the whole of the district. The
Act provided that the expenses of carrying it into execu-
tion should be met, in the case of the London authorities,
by their Dwelling House Improvement Funds, established
under the 1875 Cross Act, and, in the case of other authori-
ties, as expenditure under the Public Health Act of 1875 :
where it was required to borrow monies, such should be
borrowed under the powers of the Artizans' and Labourers'
Dwelling Improvement Act of 1875, and of the Public
Health Act, 1875.1 The " lodging houses " of the 1851
Act were to be considered as including separate houses or
cottages for the labouring classes, whether containing one
or several tenements. Both the London and provincial
authorities were empowered to acquire lands for the pur-
poses of the Lodging Houses Acts, 1851 — 67, as if for the
purposes of the Public Health Act of 1875, the conditions
of which were made to apply with the exception that the
sanctioning authority for the London area was to be the
Secretary of State. Provisions were included by which the
Metropolitan Board of Works were authorised to acquire
by agreement, and at a fair market price, the sites of cer-
tain penitentiaries and prisons in London, should these be
removed. 2 An important modification was made in the
terms upon which the Public Works Loan Commissioners,
under the powers of the Public Works Loans Act of 1875,
could lend monies in pursuance of the Labouring Classes
Lodging Houses Acts, 1851 — 67, or of the Artizans Dwell-
ings Improvement Acts, 1875 — 82, or of the Artizans
Dwellings Acts, 1868 — 82, the minimum rate of interest

1. Which allowed 50 years as maximum period of repayment at such
interest as would enable the loan to be made without loss. Later the
period was lengthened to sixty years.

2. The site of one (Millbank) has been used by the London County
Council for the erection of dwellings.

BUILDING LEGISLATION 103

being reduced to 3J per cent. By an amendment of the
Settled Land Act of 1882, the sale, exchange or lease of
land under that Act for the purpose of housing the work-
ing classes was permitted to be made at a lower price,
consideration, or rent than could have been obtained if the
land had been sold, exchanged or leased for another pur-
pose.2

In addition to the dishousing and rehousing provisions
which will shortly be considered, there are one or two
further interesting points in the Act, as, for instance, the
provision that houses let for habitation by the working
classes should be reasonably fit for human habitation at
the commencement of the holding, in connection with
which working class houses are defined as houses or parts
of houses let at a rent not exceeding in England the sum
named as the limit for the composition of rates by the
Poor Bate Assessment or Collection Act of 1869, and, in
Scotland or Ireland, £4. The composition limits named
in that Act were £20 in London, £13 in Liverpool, £10
in Manchester or Birmingham, and £8 elsewhere. The
expression " cottage," it was further provided, could be
taken as including a garden of not more than half an acre,
provided that the estimated annual value of such garden
should not exceed £3.

From 1885, a period of five years elapsed during which
no further legislation upon the housing of the working
classes matured. Then became law the Housing of the
Working Classes Act of 1890, a statute which, with certain
amendments, has controlled the housing policy of the
nation since the date of its enactment. Before discussing
those parts of the Act which are pertinent to the subject
matter of this chapter, the Local Government Act of 1888
(51 and 52 Yict. c. 41) should be briefly noticed as having

2. Sect. 11 § la.

104 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

merged the Metropolitan Board of Works, a body elected
in a most peculiar manner and at times accused of a lack
of integrity, into a London County Council : at the same
time, County Councils were ordered to be elected in all the
various counties of England and Wales, and these bodies
assumed certain duties in connection with the housing of
the working classes.

A great many of the statutes named in this chapter have
been repealed but no breach of continuity has taken place.
The law laid down in the legislation prior to 1890 is still,
broadly speaking, the law of the present. A number of
speakers and writers on housing topics have expressed
themselves in such a way that one unfamiliar with the
history of housing legislation might easily fall into the
error of supposing that the Housing of the Working
Classes Act, 1890, represented some new departure in
housing policy, whereas the exact reverse is the truth.
The Act took its origin in the necessity of simplifying
and rendering more easily accessible the maze of housing
enactments that had been passed through Parliament
during the preceding forty years. It was realized that
the involved state of the law with one amendment heaped
up on top of another had been a great discouragement
to progressive action and that the consolidation of the
same would prove a real boon to local authorities. Con-
sequently, the new Act inaugurated no startling reform,
the amendments included in it, though in places impor-
tant, were not sufficient to change essentially the nature
of the law. The principles of action established by the
groups of enactments initiated respectively by Lord
Shaftesbury, Mr. Torrens, and Viscount Cross, were
adopted with but such modifications as were considered
necessary to secure their harmonious and equitable opera-
tion. In this chapter, attention will be given only to

BUILDING LEGISLATION 105

that portion of the Act which deals with the provision of
working class dwellings.

In the Housing Act of 1890, the principle of simul-
taneously encouraging both municipal and private enter-
prise, laid down clearly in the Shaftesbury Acts, 1861-67,
is established more firmly than ever. The definition of
the expression used in those measures — "lodging houses"
— as interpreted in the 1885 Housing Act is retained so
that both separate cottages1 and tenement dwellings are
provided for. The authorities of metropolitan, urban and
rural sanitary districts may adopt this part2 of the Act,
but, in the case of the last named, the consent of the County
Council must be obtained, in the same way and under the
same conditions as the consent of the Local Government
Board had to be obtained from 1885 to 1890. This change
was brought about by the organisation of county councils
already mentioned.

The power of compulsory purchase of land upon which
it is intended to erect workingmen's dwellings was first
granted to the local authority in 1885, and this right the
1890 Act continues, with similar conditions as to com-
pensation.3 The clauses of the 1851 Act, authorising the
building, purchase or lease of lodging-houses, their altera-
tion, improvement, and equipment (with all requisite
furniture, fittings, and conveniences), were also re-em-
bodied in the Act, as well as the seven years' sale clause.

The powers granted to the Public Works Loan Com-
missioners to lend money to railway, dock or harbour com-
panies, to housing associations or companies, and to private

1. With or without gardens of value not exceeding £3 per annum, and
in extent not more than half an acre.

2. Part III.

3. Namely those of the Land Clauses Consolidation Acts, the basis of
compensation being the fair market value plus an allowance for com-
pulsory purchase, usually ten per cent.

106 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

persons, are the same as originally granted under the
Labouring Classes Dwelling Houses Act of 1866, even the
same period of repayment (forty years) being retained.
In the 1866 Act, the rate of interest was fixed at a
minimum of 4 per cent., but this was lowered to 3J per
cent, in 1890 and went below that figure in later years, the
Act being phrased so that the lowest interest sufficient to
avoid loss could be authorised by the Treasury. The
maximum loan period to local authorities stood at sixty
years. Some new provisions which deserve mentioning
were the power to sell or exchange land acquired under
Part III. for the purpose of obtaining land better suited,
the removal of disabilities attaching to non-corporate
bodies in the holding of land, the extension of powers to
any and all companies to build workingmen's dwellings,1
and the authorisation of gas and water companies, at their
discretion, to furnish supplies of gas or water either with-
out charge or on favourable terms. The implied contract
clause (that houses under a certain rent should be reason-
ably fit for habitation), enforced by the 1885 Act, found
a place in the later Act.2 The power of writing down the
value of land for housing sites remained as in the 1885
Act.

No further legislation relative to constructive housing
secured the approval of Parliament until 1900, when an
amending Act3 was passed, though the Small Dwellings
Acquisition Act of 1899 enabled urban local authorities to
play an indirect but somewhat important part in stimulat-
ing house building.

The Act of 1900 introduced several changes into the

1. " Notwithstanding any Act of Parliament, or charter, or any rule
of law or equity to the contrary." — Sect. 67 :3.

2. Attempts were made to contract out of this, but were finally quieted
by the amending Act of 1903, which insisted upon the implied contract
holding good, and made void all agreements to the contrary.

3. The Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1900.

BUILDING LEGISLATION 107

law as codified in Part III. of the main Act. The some-
what complicated procedure attaching to the adoption of
Part III. by a rural district Council was simplified, the
necessity for a local enquiry by the county council being
dispensed with. Power was granted to local authorities,
with the consent of the Local Government Board or of the
County Council,1 to lease land, acquired by them under
Part III., to persons engaging to erect lodging houses on
the land. Under the Working Men's Dwellings Act of
1874 and the Municipal Corporations Act of 1882, this
power already belonged to municipal corporations, but the
1900 Act made it applicable to all local authorities. The
conditions attaching to such a lease remain essentially the
same as in the Act of 1874. A very important amendment
from the point of view of local authorities anxious to make
full use of Part III. has been the clause enabling a local
council, other than that of a rural district, to establish or
acquire lodging houses outside of the limits of its own
district. The power of the county council over rural
housing was extended by enabling such a body to transfer
to itself the powers of any rural district council in regard
to Part III., where a parish council concerned passes a
resolution that the rural district council ought to have
taken steps for the adoption of that Part and to have
exercised its powers under the same but has not done so :
the resolution of transfer acts, if necessary, as an adoption
of Part III. by the district council. Arbitration was
simplified by placing such proceedings for the determina-
tion of the price of land acquired compulsorily in the
hands of a single arbitrator appointed by the Local
Government Board or, in the case of a London Council, by
the Secretary of State.

1. The County Council in case of a Rural District Council; in other
cases the Local Government Board or (in London) the Secretary of State.

108 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

A long-continued agitation for easier loan repayment
terms culminated, in 1903, in the extension of the maxi-
mum period for repayment of loans to eighty years, this
being provided for by the Housing of the Working Classes
Act, 1903. 1 It was also provided that such loans should
not be reckoned as part of the debt of the local authority
for the purposes of the limitation on borrowing under the
Public Health Act, 1875,2 which ordered that at no time
should the total debt of a local authority under the sani-
tary Acts exceed the assessable value for two years of the
premises assessable within the district. The 1890 Act con-
tained no specific authorisation allowing local authorities,
acting under Part III., to build shops, though the Working
Men's Dwelling Act, 1874, already referred to several
times, had allowed buildings put up under leases granted
by a municipal corporation, to be considered as dwellings,
though parts of them were devoted to retail trade or other
purposes. This idea was improved and enlarged upon by
the 1903 measure which interpreted the powers of any
local authority under the Housing Acts as including (with
the consent of the Local Government Board) the power of
providing and maintaining (in connection with dwelling
schemes) any building adapted for use as a shop, and,
further, any recreation grounds or other buildings or land
which, in the opinion of the Local Government, might
serve a beneficial purpose in connection with the require-
ments of the persons for whom the dwelling accommoda-
tion was provided.3

It would not be proper to close this chapter without re-
ference to a very useful Act, passed in 1899, which, though
limited necessarily to a very small part of the working

1. 3 Ed. VII. c. 39.

2. Sect. 234.

3. The clause (Sect, ii :1) also authorised the local authority to raise
money for the purpose (if nocessary) by borrowing.

BUILDING LEGISLATION 109

class community, and as yet not greatly used, will never-
theless exercise, within its limited sphere, the most desir-
able kind of influence. The Small Dwellings Acquisition
Act, 1899 (62 and 63 Viet. c. 44) opened out to local
authorities a new field of action, enabling them to give
solid encouragement to the thriftier and better-paid section
of the working classes in the direction of house building
or acquisition. By this Act, the local authority, who may
be the council of any county or county borough or any
district council, provided that in the case of the latter the
consent of the county council shall be had if the population
of the district is less than 10,000, are authorised to ad-
vance money to any resident of a house, the market value
of which does not exceed £400, for the purpose of enabl-
ing him to acquire the ownership of the same. The
amount of the advance must not exceed either four-fifths
of the market value or £240 (in case of a fee simple or of
a leasehold of not less than 99 years, £300). The con-
ditions which must be fulfilled before the loan is made,
are very reasonable, and will be found stated in the note
below.1

The terms of the advance are to be : interest, at such
rate as may be agreed upon, not exceeding ten shillings
above the rate at which the local authority can, at the
time, borrow, from the Public Works Loan Commissioners,
the money for the advance; period of repayment, not to

1. The local authority must be satisfied that : — (1) the applicant for
the advance is resident or intends to reside in the house, and is not
already the proprietor, within the meaning of the Act, of a house to
which the statutory conditions apply : but this condition may be sus-
pended where the applicant undertakes to begin his residence therein
within six months ; (2) the value of the ownership of the house is
sufficient; (3) the title to the ownership is one which an ordinary mort-
gagee would be willing to accept; (4) the house is in good sanitary
condition and in good repair; (5) the repayment to the local authority
is secured by an instrument vesting the ownership (including any interest
already held by the purchaser) in the local authority, subject to the
right of redemption by the applicant, but such instrument shall not
contain anything inconsistent with the provisions of the Act.

no THE HOUSING PROBLEM

exceed thirty years ; method of repayment, either by equal
instalments of principal or by an annuity of principal and
interest combined, all payments being made either weekly
or at any period not exceeding six months, as may be
arranged. Provision is made for the borrower repaying,
at any quarter day (with one month's notice), the whole
outstanding debt of principal and interest or any part
thereof being £10 or a multiple of £10. Until the full
repayment of the advance (or until the local authority
have taken possession or ordered a sale), the following
conditions apply: — (1) Every sum for the time being due
in respect of principal or of interest of the advance shall
be punctually paid. (2) The proprietor of the house shall
reside in the house.1 (3) The house shall be kept insured
against fire to the satisfaction of the local authority, and
the receipts for the premiums produced when required by
them. (4) The house shall be kept in good sanitary con-
dition and good repair. (5) The house shall not be used
for the sale of intoxicating liquors, or in such a manner
as to be a nuisance to adjacent houses. (6) The local
authority shall have power to enter the house by any per-
son, authorised by them in writing for the purpose, at all
reasonable times for the purpose of ascertaining whether
the statutory conditions are complied with.

A person, acquiring any house under this Act, may, with
the assent of the local authority, transfer, at any time, his
interest in the house, such transfer being made subject to
the statutory conditions. Where the statutory conditions
as to residence are not complied with, the local authority

1. But — clause 7 § 2 — " The local authority may allow a proprietor to
permit, by letting or otherwise, a house to be occupied as a furnished
house by some other person during a period not exceeding four months
in the whole in any twelve months, or during absence from the house in
the performance of any duty arising from or incidental to any office,
service, or employment held or undertaken by him, and the condition
requiring residence shall be suspended while the permission continues."

BUILDING LEGISLATION in

may take possession of the house, and where any of the
other statutory conditions are broken, whether the pro-
prietor is or is not in residence, they may either take
possession or order the sale of the house without taking
possession.1

The expenses of the local authority are to be met out of
the rates, but it is provided that if the balance of expen-
diture in any year exceed, in a county, a sum equal to
one halfpenny, and, in a county borough, or urban or rural
district, one penny on the rateable value, no further
advance is to made by the Council until after the expiration
of five years, and, if the said balance still exceed the stated
amount, for such longer period until it falls below the
same. The local authority is permitted to borrow, and the
Public Works Loan Commissioners to lend, monies, for
the purposes of the Act, under the powers of the Public
Works Loans Act, 1879, which stipulates that, where no
special terms are laid down in the enabling Act, all loans
shall be advanced at a minimum interest of five per cent.,
for a maximum repayment period, of twenty years.

No direct reference has yet been made to the Working

1. In the case of any condition, other than that of the punctual pay-
ment of the principal and interest of the advance, being broken, the
local authority shall, previous to taking possession or ordering a sale,
call upon the proprietor by written notice to comply with the conditions,
and if he gives a written undertaking to do so within fourteen days and
complies therewith within two months, they shall not proceed to take
possession or to order a sale. Where they take possession of a house,
they shall pay to the proprietor (with deductions for all costs of or
incidental to the taking of possession, sale, or disposal of the house,
including the costs of arbitration, if any) either (1) such sum as may be
agreed upon, or (2) a sum equal to the value of the interest in the
house at the disposal of the local authority, after deducting therefrom
the amount of the advance then remaining unpaid, and any sum due
for interest, such value, in the absence of a sale and in default of agree-
ment, being settled by a county court judge as arbitrator, or, if the
Lord Chancellor so authorises, by a single arbitrator appointed by the
county court judge. Should the sum so payable not be paid within
three months after the date of taking possession, it shall carry interest
at the rate of three per cent, per annum from the date of taking posses-
sion. A house, taken possession of by a local authority, may either be
retained under their own management, or may be sold or otherwise
disposed of as they think fit.

H2 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Class Dwellings Act of 1890 (53 and 54 Viet. c. 16), a
brief Act passed shortly before the great Housing Act,
but not repealed thereby. The object of this Act is to
facilitate gifts of land for the erection of working class
dwellings in populous places, and it exempts from the
operation of the Mortmain and Charitable Uses Act, 1888,
Parts I. and II., "any assurance, by deed or will, of land,
or of personal estate to be laid out in land for the purpose
of providing dwellings for the working classes in any
populous place," but such land, assured by will under this
section, must not exceed five acres. The phrase "populous
place" is defined as including the administrative county
of London, any municipal borough, any urban sanitary
district, and any other place having a dense population
of an urban character.

One more act needs a brief notice, and that is the London
Government Act of 1899, (62 and 63 Yict. c. 14), which
rearranged the forty-two vestries and district boards of
the metropolis into twenty-eight borough councils, these,
from the commencement of their official existence in Nov-
ember, 1900, being empowered to exercise the powers of
Part III. of the Housing Act of 1890 concurrently with
the County Council.

To conclude, the present chapter evidences the steady
adherence of the English Parliament to a policy of muni-
cipal interference in the matter of house supply. Well
over fifty years ago, it authorized local authorities ("of
populous places") to engage in the business of house build-
ing, and its most recent Act (in 1903) was to confirm its
position in that matter. The propriety of such a policy
is something that must be discussed in a later chapter.

CHAPTEE VI.

THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH LEGISLATION BEARING UPON
HOUSE IMPROVEMENT, DISHOUSING AND REHOUSING.

The specific evils which constitute the housing problem
are, as indicated in a previous chapter, (1) insanitary
conditions, (2) overcrowding, and (3) overhousing. The
English housing code bases its policy of reform upon two
methods, one that of improving existing house accommoda-
tion, the other that of increasing the supply of dwellings.
The present chapter will trace briefly the development of
legislative action of the former kind, and, in doing so,
will give attention, in the first place, to the legislation
aimed at the evils existing in individual houses or small
groups and, secondly, to that dealing with large areas.
The laws comprised within the same form a very interesting
series, including both housing and general sanitary meas-
ures. Their study may very conveniently commence with
the Nuisances Removal Act of 1855 (18 and 19 Viet,
c. 121), though this consolidating A'jt was not the beginning
of sanitary legislation.

Within the list of nuisance? specified, in this Act, it
was provided that there should be included any premises
in such a state as to be "a nuisance or injurious to health,"1
and power of complaint attached to any person aggrieved,
to any two inhabitant householders of the parish or place
to which the complaint related, and to certain official
servants of the local authority On receiving a complaint,
the local authority could demand entry for the purpose
of examining the premises, and, if refused, could secure an
order from a justice of the peace. Upon the evidence thus

1. Section 8.

H4 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

obtained, the justices could order the abatement of the
nuisance, and, if they considered it necessary, could make
an order prohibiting the use of the house for human habi-
tation until it was rendered fit for that purpose, where-
upon they could issue another order declaring it open
again. Such structural works could be ordered by them
as would secure the abatement of the nuisance, though a
right of appeal to the quarter sessions existed for seven
days after the date of the order, in case of recourse to which
all proceedings under the order were to be postponed until
after the determination or lapse of the appeal.

This Act, it will be noticed, provided only for a
nuisance application being made by the local authority,
but in 1860 (Nuisances Amendment Act, 23 and 24 Yict.
c. 77) the privilege was extended to any householder of the
parish or place where the nuisance occurred, and such
person could also be granted an order of entry. This was
again extended in 1874 by the Sanitary Laws Amendment
Act (37 and 38 Yict. c. 89) by making nuisances in public
premises subject to the same complaints and application,
and further by enabling any owner of premises situated in
the parish, or any other aggrieved person, to make com-
plaint. In this form, the provision was embodied in the
consolidating Act of the following year (Public Health
Act, 1875—38 and 39 Yict. c. 55), which substantially
governs the whole of England and Wales to-day, excepting
London which, in 1891, had its own consolidating Act.
In 1866, the Sanitary Act of that year (29 and 30 Yict. c.
90) amended previous procedure by requiring the local
authority, previous to taking proceedings before a justice,
to serve notice on the person responsible for the nuisance
to abate the same and, within a specified time, to execute
all such works as might be necessary for that purpose. In
case of non-compliance, a court order could be obtained as

IMPROVEMENT LEGISLATION 115

previously, but it should be noticed that the 1875 Act gives
the court power to impose a penalty not exceeding £5.1

A useful clause was introduced into the Act of 1866,
and afterwards perpetuated in the 1875 measure, confer-
ring power upon the local authority, under the certificate
of a legally qualified medical practitioner,2 to compel the
owner or occupier of a filthy or unwholesome house to
whitewash, clean or purify the whole or part of the house
at his own expense. In the later Act, the power was given
to impose a penalty of ten shillings per day for every day
of default subsequent to the expiration of the specified
time, and it was further provided that the local authority
might execute the works ordered and summarily recover
the expenses.

The matter of overcrowding was handled in the 1855
Act, though the operation of this part of the Act was re-
stricted to cases of overcrowding where more than one
family resided in the same house. The justices, upon
application of the local authority, based upon a certificate
of the Medical Officer of Health, or (where there was no
such officer) upon that of two medical practitioners, that
certain houses were so overcrowded as to be dangerous or
prejudicial to the health of the inmates could make an
order, at the same time imposing a penalty not exceeding
forty shillings upon the person permitting such over-
crowding. In 1866, overcrowding, dangerous or prejudicial
to health, was specifically included in the list of nuisances
under the Nuisance Removal Acts, and the restriction to
cases where more than one family resided in the same
house was removed. It was also enacted that where two
convictions of overcrowding against the same dwelling

1. 38 and 39 Viet. c. 55, Sect. 95.

2. The 1875 Act modified this so as to read " medical officer of health
or any two medical practitioners."

n6 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

should take place within three months, the justices could
close the premises for such time as they deemed necessary.1
These clauses were reproduced in the consolidating Act of
1875. This same Act of 1866 introduced very stringent
regulations concerning houses let in lodgings or occupied
by more than one family, the local authority being em-
powered, subject to the authorisation and confirmation of
the central government, to make regulations for fixing the
number of occupants of such houses, for registering and
inspecting the houses, and for providing that they should
be kept in a cleanly and wholesome condition; penalties
might be imposed for disobedience to the regulations.

Cellar dwellings were dealt with rigidly in the 1875 Act,
the occupation of such cellars or rooms as separate dwell-
ings being absolutely prohibited if they were not lawfully
occupied at the time of the passing of the Act. Existing
cellar dwellings were held down to stringent requirements,
which, in 1891, were made even more stringent so far as
London was concerned, though there was no prohibition in
that Act of the future establishment of dwellings in cellars.
Power was given by both Acts to courts of summary juris-
diction to order the closing of an underground dwelling
for any necessary period, or even permanently, in cases
where two convictions for an offence relating to its occu-
pancy as a dwelling should take place within three months.
A penalty not exceeding twenty shillings for every day
during which the written notice of the local authority is
disobeyed may be imposed upon any person letting, occupy-
ing or knowingly suffering to be occupied any cellar or
underground room contrary to the provisions of the Acts.

The Shaftesbury Act of 1851 provided that, where lodg-
ing houses were put up under the Act, bye-laws should
be made for securing proper control and orderliness. By

1. If the place were a cellar dwelling, it could be closed permanently.

IMPROVEMENT LEGISLATION 117

the Sanitary Act of 1866 the local authority, under the
approval of the central government, were given full power
to regulate by bye-laws the occupancy and cleanliness of
such dwellings. The provisions of the two Acts in this
matter were consolidated in the 1875 Act.1

The evils of overcrowding and uncleanliness against
which these bye-laws were aimed are ones to which tene-
ment dwellings are particularly liable. To enforce obed-
ience to them, it was found necessary to increase the
penalties for offences against the same, the forty shillings
for each offence and twenty shillings per diem for eveiy
day of the continuance of the offence after written notice
being raised to £5 and forty shillings respectively.

Since the passing of the Common Lodging Houses Acts
of 1851 and 1853, considerable attention has been paid
by the legislature to lodging houses of this class. The
Acts mentioned were repealed, outside of London, by the
Public Health Act of 1875, which restated in more
adequate form the manner of regulating such houses.2 It
is hardly necessary to say more here than that the inten-
tion of the legislation has been to secure the orderly and
cleanly management of such places, and to make both the
registration of houses and their keepers compulsory.

The 1855 Act, as has already been pointed out, em-
powered the justices to issue a closing order against any
house proved to be unfit for human habitation. This was
re-enacted in the 1875 Act and is, of course, the law to-day.

1. As stated in that Act, the local authority were to make bye-laws —
(a) for fixing the number of persons who may occupy a house or part
of a house which is let in lodgings or occupied by members of more than
one family, and for the separation of the sexes in a house so let or
occupied ; (6) for the registration and inspection of houses so let or
occupied ; (c) for enforcing drainage and privy accommodation, and for
promoting cleanliness and ventilation; (d) for the paving of courts and
courtyards; (e) for the cleansing and limewashing of the premises at
stated times; (/) for the taking of precautions in case of any infectious
disease.

2. Public Health Act, 1875 ; Sects. 76—88.

Ii8 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

The matter of houses unfit for habitation was taken up
more thoroughly, however, by the Torrens Act of 1868, l
though it must be noticed that this Act applied only to
places of more than 10,000 population. In every such
place, the medical officer of health or equivalent officer,
either upon his own initiative or upon that of four or more
householders, living in or near the street where the pre-
mises complained of were situated, was to investigate and
report (to the local authority) upon the condition of pre-
mises found by him, or complained against to him as being
unfit for human habitation. If after such a report the
local authority should neglect to take proceedings under
the Act for a period of more than three months, the com-
plaining householders could appeal to the Secretary of
State 2 who had the power of compelling the local authority
to act. After hearing the objections (if any) of the owner
of the property to the report, 3 the local authority could
make an order in writing, and cause to be prepared a plan
and specification of the works (if any) required, and an
estimate of their cost, which the owner was privileged to
examine, and, at a subsequent meeting of the local
authority, to object to; further, upon the making of an
order with relation thereto, he could appeal against it on
the ground that he was not responsible for the condition
of his premises, at the same time giving notice of the
appeal to the party or authority alleged by him to be re-
sponsible. This third party, of course, was allowed to
appear before the court in defence. The local authority

1. 31 and 32 Viet. c. 130 (The Artizans' and Labourers' Dwellings
Act).

2. Subsequently changed to the Local Government Board. See 1890
Act, Sect. 31 (2).

3. The Report of the Officer of Health was to be submitted by the
local authority to a surveyor or engineer, who would examine and report
upon the cause and removal of the evil complained of. The owner was
to be furnished with a copy of each of these reports.

IMPROVEMENT LEGISLATION 119

might decide that the owner was not liable, in which case
they would take action with the proper parties. After the
making of the order, three months were allowed for the
owner, upon whom the order was imposed in the first in-
stance, to commence the works required, which he must
diligently proceed with. If he failed to obey the order,
the next owner was to be required to carry on the works,
and so on, and, if all the owners defaulted, the local
authority might order the premises to be shut up or
demolished, or might themselves execute the necessary
works, making an application to the Quarter Sessions for
an order charging all expenses, with interest at four per
cent, per annum, upon the premises. The total amount
was to be a charge upon the house, bearing interest at the
same rate. Should total demolition be required and the
owner have failed to demolish within three months after
the service of the order, the local authority were to do sc
selling the materials, deducting expenses, and handing
the balance, if any, to the owner. Instead of effecting im-
provements, the owner could take down the premises, but
he was prohibited in such case, and also in every case where
he desired to retain the site of premises required by the
order to be totally demolished, from erecting on the site a
building which should be injurious to health. Where the
owner completed all the works required to be done, he was
entitled to obtain from the local authority, as a charge on
the premises on which the work had been executed, an
annuity of six pounds per centum, payable for a term of
thirty years, upon the expenditure incurred : this was to
be compensation for his expense. For the expenses in-
curred under the Act, the local authority were authorised
to levy a special rate of not more than twopence in the
pound, and also to apply to the Public Works Loan Com-
missioners for advances of monies.

120 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

This Act remained without amendment for eleven years,
that is, until the Torrens Amendment Act of 1879. x A
somewhat dangerous prerogative was granted to the owner
of premises against which an improvement or demolition
order had been made in that he could require the local
authority to purchase.2 In case of dispute over the price,
the Local Government Board were to appoint an arbitrator
who, in settling the amount to be paid, was to base his
estimate of the value of the premises on the fair market
value as estimated at the time of the valuation being
made of the same, "due regard being had to the nature
and then condition of the property .... and all circum-
stances affecting such value," without any additional allow-
ance being made in respect of compulsory purchase. A
mild form of " Betterment" was recognised, for the arbi-
trator was to make allowance in respect of any increased
value which, in his opinion, would be given to other prem-
ises of the same owner by the alteration or demolition of
the premises by the local authority. From the award of
the arbitrator no appeal was allowed. Where the owner
did not execute the required works, and the local authority
undertook them, the latter were to be entitled not only to
sell old material and to set off such receipts against their
expenses but also to recover the balance of such expenses
from the owner, as a debt due from him, by action at law
— an important widening of the original clause. Any
land or premises acquired by a local authority under the
1868 Act, and not required, could be disposed of or (so

1. 42 and 43 Viet. c. 64. But the Public Health Act of 1872 had, in
the meantime, made the appointment of a medical officer of health com-
pulsory in all sanitary districts (constituted under the Act), thus render-
ing more stringent the " officer of health " requirement in the first
Torrens Act.

2. Section 5.

IMPROVEMENT LEGISLATION 121

far as the land was concerned) could be dedicated as a
highway or other public place.1

In 1882, by the Artizans' Dwellings Act, a measure
which amended both the Torrens and the Cross Acts, an
important extension was made in the powers of the former.
Now the Medical Officer of Health was enabled to make a
representation about any building, not in itself unfit for
human habitation but so situated that it stopped ventila-
tion, or conduced to make other buildings unfit for
human habitation or prevented proper measures from being
carried into effect for remedying the evils complained
of in respect of such other buildings, to the intent
that the building was an obstructive one and should be
pulled down. Reports, meeting for consideration, and the
making of an order were to be required as usual. The
order made and standing good, the local authority were to
be deemed authorized to purchase the lands on which the
obstructive building was erected, but within one month
after the notice of purchase had been served, the owner
might declare his intention to retain the site of the build-
ing and undertake to pull down the obstructive building ;
compensation for the pulling down of the building was to
be granted to him. Where the lands were purchased by
the local authority, they were to pull down the building
or such portion of it as caused the obstruction, keeping
the site, or such part of it as was necessary for remedying

1. It may conveniently be noted here that a certain amount of super-
vision was granted by the Act to the Metropolitan Board of Works over
the London local authorities to the extent that where any of the latter
neglected to put into force the provisions of the Act in respect of pre-
mises described in a notice served on them by the former, after three
months from the date of such notification the Board of Works could
enforce the Act as though they were the local authority, recovering ex-
penses incurred from the same. By the 1890 Act, the period of three
months was reduced to one month, and, of course, the London County
Council substituted for the defunct Board of Works. The same power
was granted to any County Council over rural sanitary authorities within
its jurisdiction.

122 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

the evil, as an open space; with the assent of the con-
firming authority any portion of the site not required
could be sold. If the arbitrator were of the opinion that
the demolition of the obstructive building added to the
value of other buildings, he could apportion among such
buildings so much of the compensation to be paid for the
demolition of the obstructive building as might be equal
to the increase in value of the other buildings, such appor-
tioned amount to be deemed private improvement expenses
incurred by the local authority. The latter could then
levy an improvement rate on the occupiers of such
premises, as under the provisions of the 1875 Health Act.
In the event of a dispute between the owner and the occu-
pier of any building to which an amount might be appor-
tioned in respect of private improvement expenses and the
arbitrator, two justices were to decide the matter where
the amount of compensation claimed did not exceed ,£50.
The clause requiring the arbitrator to take into considera-
tion "all circumstances affecting the value of lands or
interests" concerned was removed. It was also provided
that where a local authority of London took no action upon
an official representation, the board of guardians in whose
union or parish such premises were situated, or the owner
of any property in the neighbourhood of the same, might
complain to the Metropolitan Board of Works who, if they
thought fit, could thereupon proceed to enforce the Act
as provided for in the 1879 Torrens Amendment Act.

From this time until 1890, the only legislation referring
to the Torrens Acts was that clause of the Housing of the
Working Classes Act of 1885, 1 in which the right of an
owner of premises, subjected to an improvement or demo-
lition order, to require the local authority to purchase the
premises was withdrawn.
1. 48 and 49 Viet. c. 72.

IMPROVEMENT LEGISLATION 123

To those acquainted, with the present law as to the
powers and methods of dealing with houses unfit for habita-
tion, it will be obvious from the foregoing sketch that the
Housing of the Working Classes Act of 1890 introduced
no new principle in this respect ; in fact, its function was
largely that of consolidating (and, to some extent, im-
proving) the earlier Acts. The more important changes
alone can be noticed in this essay. One of these is the
heavier penalty which the court of petty sessions may attach
to a closing order — £20. Where occupiers do not vacate
the premises, ordered to be closed, within seven days after
notice by the local authority, a penalty of <£! per diem
may be imposed. Reasonable expenses incurred in re-
moving occupiers may be allowed by the local authority
under the sanction of the court making the order; the
amount is to be debited against the owner and can be re-
covered from him in the ordinary way. The proceedings
for demolition outlined in the first Torrens Act, in cases
where, after the making or confirming of an order, no
adequate effort is being made to render the house fit for
habitation, are substantially the same in the present Act
as they were in 1868.

The powers for dealing with obstructive buildings, first
introduced by the Act of 1882, were re-enacted in the
1890 measure with little change. The compensation clauses
were stated more comprehensively than in the earlier meas-
ure, both the Torrens and Cross Amendment Acts of 1879
being drawn upon : it is desirable to restate here the final
result. In estimating compensation for the compulsory
acquisition of buildings, the condition of the property both
as regards its probable duration and its state of repair
is to be taken into account, and in cases where the rent
is abnormally high by reason of an illegal use or over-
crowding, or where the building is insanitary or dilapi-

124 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

dated, or where it is unfit for habitation and not reasonably
capable of being made fit, the compensation is to be esti-
mated with regard to these facts. The abnormal rent,
obtained under the conditions first named, is not to form
the basis of compensation but the normal rent which would
have been obtained if the dwelling had not been over-
crowded or used for illegal purposes. In the second case,
the cost of putting the house into a sanitary condition or
into repair must be deducted from the estimated value of
the house when placed in such condition ; and, in the last
instance, the compensation is simply to represent the value
of the land, and of the materials of the building. The fact
that the premises are being acquired compulsorily is not
to affect the compensation.

The most important feature of the part (Part II.) of
the 1890 Act which is the historical sequence of the Torrens
Acts is that dealing with the improvement of small areas.
Previously, areas could only be dealt with under the Cross
Acts but, after 1890, it became possible to handle small
areas under a somewhat more simple procedure, which
briefly is as follows. The local authority must pass a reso-
lution that the demolition or reconstruction of the area
under consideration is desirable in consequence of its bad
condition or arrangement being prejudicial to the health
of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, and that the area
is too small to be treated under Part I. They must also
prepare a scheme, giving notice of it, and submitting it
to the Local Government Board who will proceed to hold
an inquiry. If the scheme meets with the approval of that
Board, they will now sanction the scheme, modifying it,
should they so choose : in the absence of any opposition,
the scheme will be confirmed and may then be put into
execution. Where lands are to be acquired compulsorily,
the provisional order must first be advertised in the London

IMPROVEMENT LEGISLATION 125

Gazette, and a copy of it placed in the possession of every
owner within the area, any one of whom may submit,
within two months, a petition against the order, in which
event confirmation must take place by Act of Parliament.
The scheme may be modified under conditions precisely
the same as those laid down in the 1875 Cross Act. In
sanctioning the scheme, the Local Government Board can
demand the insertion of such provisions (if any) for the
rehousing of persons of the working classes displaced as
seem to the Board to be required by the circumstances.
The London County Council, either in exercise of the
powers of a borough council or upon the representation of
the latter that a scheme under Part II. ought to be made,
may undertake a Part II. scheme at the expense of the
county fund : they may obtain from the Secretary of State
an order charging the whole or part of the expenses upon
the local council, or, under the privilege granted thirteen
years later by Section 14 of 3 Ed. YIL c. 39, the borough
council may voluntarily contribute without an order and
are allowed to borrow money for the same. Also where
a metropolitan borough undertake a Part II. scheme, they
may secure a voluntary contribution to the cost of the
scheme from the London County Council, or may obtain an
order from the Secretary of State to this effect.

Where larger areas are treated under Part L, adjoin-
ing lands, if required, may be included under the scheme,
but not till 1903 does this appear to have held good of a
Part II. scheme. In settling the amount of compensation,
the procedure of Part I. applies, but, in addition, the
betterment of any other houses of an owner caused by the
execution of the scheme is to be taken into account, and
the decision of the arbitrator is to be final and binding.

In connection with reconstruction schemes under Part
II. of the 1890 Act, a curious omission placed the local

126 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

authority in the position of being able to borrow money
to cover the purchase price and compensation but not such
other expenses as are incidental to' promoting and carry-
ing into effect such a scheme. This was remedied, how-
ever, by a special Act of two clauses passed in 1894. l

Further amendments and additions to the law as con-
solidated in Part II. of the 1890 Act were made by the
Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1903 (3 Ed. VII.
c. 39). Power was given to include neighbouring lands in
areas treated under Part II. schemes, but the prohibition
of an additional allowance for compulsory purchase does
not apply to such lands. The power of the local authority
over dwellings unfit for human habitation (or in such state,
the Act adds, that the occupation should be immediately
discontinued) was made more stringent by rendering it
unnecessary for the local authority to serve a notice of
abatement on the owner and occupier of such a dwelling
before obtaining a closing order. A further change of
appreciable worth was made in connection with the execu-
tion of demolition orders by the local authority. Until
1903, if the sale of old materials did not cover the expenses
of the demolition, the loss fell upon the rates, but this was
now amended so that the deficit could be recovered as a
civil debt from the owner of the building.

An important extension of facilities made by this Act
and affecting operations under all parts of the main Act
(1890) is that concerned with the period of loan repayment.
Prior to 1903, the maximum repayment period for monies
borrowed under the Housing Act of 1890 was fixed by
Section 234 of the 1875 Public Health Act at 60 years;
this, as mentioned previously, was now extended to 80
years.

1. The Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1894—57 and 58 Viet.
c. 55.

IMPROVEMENT LEGISLATION 127

Before leaving this interesting and useful side of our
housing legislation, reference may be made to a further
extension of the principle of allowing " moving " expenses
to occupiers dispossessed under a closing order, namely, the
privilege given in section 78 of the 1890 Act to local
authorities, allowing them to grant reasonable expenses of
this kind to any tenant of a building required to vacate his
tenancy in order that the building occupied may be pulled
down for the purpose of a Part I. or Part II. scheme,
though the building is not closed by an order.

The year 1875 is a notable one in the history of housing
legislat 3n as it marks the introduction of a policy of con-
siderable moment in the housing reform movement. The
Artizans' Dwellings Improvement Act, commonly known
as the Cross Act,1 was intended to apply on a larger and
more drastic scale the remedy already made applicable to
single houses by the first Torrens Act. It provided for the
demolition and reconstruction of insanitary and overpopu-
lated town areas subject to an abnormal amount of fever
and disease and unfit for human habitation.2 The method
of reform proposed by the Act to be followed was (1) official
representation,3 (2) official enquiry by the central govern-
ment with issue of a provisional order, and (3) approval of
the provisional order by Parliament. To justify a * repre-
sentation,' buildings in the area complained of had to be
unfit for habitation or the area had to be subject to diseases
indicating a generally low condition of health due to the
bad condition or bad arrangement of the property. Upon

1. 38 and 39 Viet. c. 36.

2. The Act applied to London and to any urban sanitary district in
England and Ireland with a population upwards of 25,000. Similar
powers were granted to Scotland in the 38 and 39 Viet. c. 49

3. Ordinarily by the local medical officer of health, provision being
made that he could be called upon to act by any two justices of the
peace acting within the district or by any twelve persons liable to be
rated for the expenses under the Act, the central authority lending its
aid for that purpose.

128 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

a representation being made to the local authority and
accepted, by them, they were to draw up an improvement
scheme for the area, which could propose to take land com-
pulsorily. The scheme was to provide for the rehousing,
in the neighbourhood of the area, of displaced persons
of the working class. A public and properly advertised
inquiry was to be held subsequently by the Local Govern-
ment Board, who could issue, if they approved, a provi-
sional order, which then had to be sanctioned by Parlia-
ment;1 opposition might have to be met at each and all of
these stages. One notices with interest the prohibition
imposed upon the local authority by which they were not
allowed, without the express permission of the central
government to erect dwellings upon the cleared area. Even
where they did have such permission they were to sell the
dwellings within ten years from completion unless granted
special relief from this requirement.

The compensation and arbitration clauses in a measure
of this nature must necessarily be of the utmost importance
and hence considerable attention was bestowed by the Act
upon almost every detail of the procedure connected with
the determining of these matters. In settling the com-
pensation payable for lands proposed, to be taken compul-
sorily, the fair market value of the property, as existing at
the time of purchase, was to be taken, without any addi-
tional allowance for a compulsory purchase. Persons sus-
taining loss by the extinction of rights of way and other
easements upon the purchase of any lands were to be com-
pensated. A special schedule, of no less than thirty-two
clauses, detailed the method in which lands compulsorily
taken were to be purchased and acquired by the local auth-

1. Provision was made for the modification of any approved scheme
by the confirming authority placing a statement before both Houses of
Parliament. Where larger expenditure or further compulsory purchase
of lands, etc., was involved, the original procedure had to be repeated.

IMPROVEMENT LEGISLATION 129

ority. According to this elaborate scheme, an arbitrator
was to be appointed by the confirming authority, and he
was to hold an inquiry, nmke a public provisional award,
hold a further meeting for objections, after which he might
confirm his provisional award, a copy of it being deposited
at the office of the local authority who were to publicly
advertise it. In case of dissatisfaction, provided the amount
awarded as compensation exceeded £500, either side might
appeal to the courts and have the question submitted to a
jury, but, if there were no appeal, the purchase would be
proceeded with in the ordinary course.1

Local authorities were to form a special fund (The Dwell-
ing House Improvement Fund) for the purposes of the Act,
and were granted power to borrow monies on the mortgage
of the land, houses, or other property acquired under the
Act or the rates, repaying the same out of the rates. Ad-
vances could be made by the Public Works Loan Commis-
sioners for periods of fifty years at a minimum of 3^ per
cent, per annum.

Barely four years had passed away before it was found
desirable to amend the Cross Act, the amendment being
carried out by the 42 and 43 Yict. c. 63 (18T9).2 This
Act enabled the arbitrator, if it were proved to him that,
at the date of the confirming Act or at some previous date
not earlier than the date of the official representation in
which the scheme originated, the houses or premises whose
compensation he was assessing constituted a nuisance
within the meaning of the law, to deduct the estimated

1. Where the local authority were desirous of entering on the lands
as soon as possible, they could deposit in the Bank of England the
amount of the purchase money, or some greater sum, certified by the
arbitrator as being of the proper amount, and would then be able to
enter upon the lands at an earlier date than in the ordinary way.
Should they do this, five per cent, interest per annum was to be paid
by them upon the compensation money from the time of entry to the
time of payment of the principal and interest.

2. Cross Amendment Act.

130 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

expense of abating the nuisance from the amount of com-
pensation that would otherwise have been awarded. He
could also decide that a part of a building could be acquired
by the local authority without material damage to the
building, whereupon the latter would not be obliged to
purchase the whole of it. The clause of the main Act
requiring the displaced persons to be rehoused within the
area or its immediate vicinity was modified so as to permit
the local authority (with the approval of the confirming
authority) to go further afield, " since," so runs the section,
" equally convenient accommodation at a much less cost
can be often provided in this way." l For the purpose of
providing for this rehousing, the local authority were per-
mitted to appropriate any lands belonging to them and
suitable for the erection of working class dwellings, or to
purchase by agreement any such additional lands as might
be convenient.

In this same year, a Treasury minute fixed the
following rates of interest under the Cross Acts : 3^ per
cent, per annum where the period of repayment did not
exceed 20 years, 3J per cent, per annum for not exceeding
30 years, 4 per cent, for not exceeding 40 years, 4^ per
cent, for not exceeding 50 years. A maximum sum of
£100,000 was fixed for any one operation.2

No further legislation attracts our attention until, in
1882, the Artizans' Dwellings Act (45 and 46 Yict. c. 54),
an Act in two parts, amended both the Cross and the
Torrens Acts. Part I. contained at least three important
modifications of the former, one dealing with the rehousing
of displaced persons in London, another with the valuation
of property by the arbitrator, and the third with a division
of duties between the Metropolitan Board of Works and

1. Section 4.

2. See reference in Report of Royal Commission on the Housing of the
Working Classes, 1885 : Question 37.

IMPROVEMENT LEGISLATION 131

the local authorities within its area. Taking these in their
order, under the first head it was provided that if the officer
conducting the local inquiry reported that it was expedient,
" having regard to the special circumstances of the locality
and to the number of artizans and others belonging to
the labouring class dwelling within the area, and being
employed within a mile thereof," l to dispense with the
rehousing of some of the displaced persons, the confirming
authority might do so to the extent of one-half. Where
the local authority proposed to house the displaced on an
area situated elsewhere than in London, they might be
called upon to provide either within or without the limits
of that area for such number of persons of the working
class displaced in the area as the confirming authority
might require. This clause, it will be seen, refers to two
sets of displaced persons, first, those displaced by the im-
provement scheme, and, secondly, those displaced (if any)
by the rehousing of the former on an extra-Metropolitan
area. Under the second head, the arbitrator was instructed
not to include in his estimate of the value of lands or in-
terests any addition to or improvement of the property
made after the date of publication of an advertisement
stating that the improvement scheme had been made,
unless such addition or improvement was necessary for
the maintenance of the property in a proper state of
repair, nor as regards any interest acquired after such
date was any separate estimate of the value thereof
to be paid for the lands. Further, the too generous and
too vague phrase " and all circumstances affecting such
value " (to be taken into account when making the esti-
mate) was repealed.. Under the third head, the Metro-
politan Board of Works were empowered to pass any official
representation, made to them concerning not more than

1. Section 3.

132 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

ten houses, over to the proper local authority who were
to deal with it under the Torrens Acts.

Before leaving the consideration of this measure, it is
important to notice that the process of arbitration was
simplified to some extent. The arbitrator was permitted
to ascertain the amount of compensation demanded and
offered in such manner as he thinks most convenient."
After so doing he was to proceed to the hearing of parties
interested, afterwards giving notice to the claimants of a
meeting at which he would render his decision. Under
the old regulations, this award was only provisional, and
a meeting had to be summoned for the hearing of objec-
tions to it, after which the provisional award could be
confirmed : under the new regulations, this was done away
with, the award, when given in the first instance, was to
be binding and final and conclusive, subject to appeal
where either of the parties was dissatisfied, and its amount
exceeded a certain sum, now raised from £500 to £1,000.

Many of the clauses of the well-known Housing Act of
1885 l have already been explained, and it simply remains
for us to ascertain the purport of the Act in those parts
where it specially applies to action under the Cross Acts.

The Cross Acts were extended to all urban sanitary
districts without any definite limit as to population. Where
an official representation under the Torrens Acts was made
to a Metropolitan local authority and such authority re-
solved that the matter was of sufficient general importance
to the Metropolis to be dealt with under the Cross Acts, or
where a representation, made under the Cross Acts to the
Metropolitan Board of Works, was declared by the resolu-
tion of that body not to be of general importance and such
as ought to be dealt with by the local authority under the

1. 48 and 49 Viet. c. 72.

IMPROVEMENT LEGISLATION 133

Torrens Act, the Secretary of State could be requested to
appoint an arbitrator to report upon the case and also
whether, in the event of it being dealt with under the
Torrens Acts, the Metropolitan Board of Works ought to
contribute towards the expense. Upon the consideration
of this report, the Secretary of State could decide under
which class of Act the representation must be dealt with.
The appeal to a jury from an arbitrator's award of com-
pensation under the Cross Acts was henceforth prohibited
except by leave of the High Court of Justice or any Judge
thereof at chambers. The Act also dealt with the making
of bye-laws for tenement houses, and with the sanitary
regulation of tents, vans, sheds, and similar structures
used as dwelling places.

Though there was no very extensive utilisation of the
Cross Acts between 1879 and 1890, the legislature appar-
ently believed that the procedure outlined in them was,
on the whole, satisfactory, and, consequently, with one
exception, the Acts were embodied in the Housing of the
Working Classes Act of 1890 about as they already stood
on the statute book. The important exception was a change
in the definition of an unhealthy area rendering it un-
necessary to prove that an area complained of as being
unhealthy was subject to disease. It was now sufficient
to establish that the conditions were dangerous or injuri-
ous to health. Among the minor changes made, by the
way, was one increasing the penalty of the 1875 Cross
Act from £20 to £50 upon persons beneficially interested
in premises dealt with under Parts I. or II., and members
of the local authority, voting on questions connected there-
with.

The amending Act of 1900 did not deal with Part I.,
and, accordingly, the further amendment of 1903 (3 Ed.
Til. c. 39) represented the first substantial alteration of

134 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

this portion of the housing law since 1885. The changes
made were (1) extension of the maximum loan repayment
period to 80 years, (2) as regards money borrowed for hous-
ing purposes, the removal of the limitation imposed by the
Public Health Act of 1875, (3) the empowering of the
central authority to order a local authority, even though
the latter should pass no resolution as stated in the prin-
cipal Act, to make a scheme under Part I. (or Part II.),
enforcing their order by mandamus if necessary, (4) the
granting of the same appeal privileges to any twelve rate-
payers of the district, as belonged, under the main Act,
to the twelve originally making complaint to the Medical
Officer of Health, (5) the attaching of exactly the same
force to a provisional order as to a confirming Act in cases
where land is not proposed to be taken compulsorily or,
being proposed to be so taken, in cases where there
are no objections raised within two months of the
publication of the order (if objections of land owners can
be met by a modified order, the same can be substituted
for the original order without recourse to Parliament),1
(6) the modification of the obligation on the part of the
local authority to advertise a Part I. scheme, after they
have prepared the same, during one of the three months,
September, October, and November, any part of the year
being now available.

The Act of 1903 is also noteworthy in that it extended
the controlling power of the central authority 2 over dis-
housing projects contained in local Acts and Provisional
Orders. The inclusion of these powers resulted from the

1. The modified order must be advertised and notified as in the case
of the original, but no petitions are to be received or to have any effect
unless such as have been presented against the original order or such as
are concerned solely with the modifications sanctioned by the new order.

2. For London, the Secretary of State; for the remainder of the
country, the Local Government Board. See Section 16 of Act.

IMPROVEMENT LEGISLATION 135

report of the Joint Select Committee (1902) on Housing of
Working Classes, to which a reference was made in the
first chapter. The important schedule in which these
powers are prescribed is given in full in Appendix B, so
that a brief summary will suffice here. It is laid down in
the body of the Act that the provisions of the schedule
are to apply where land is acquired by local Act or
Provisional Order or Order having the effect of an Act,
either compulsorily or by agreement, by any authority,
company or person or where land is acquired compulsorily
under any general Act other than the Housing Acts.
Working men's dwellings, occupied by thirty or more
working class people, are not to be taken until the central
authority have approved a rehousing scheme, or have
decided that such is unnecessary. In this housing scheme,
the central authority have to take into consideration not
merely the number of present occupiers, but also any
persons of the working classes displaced within the previous
five years in view of the acquisition of the land by the
parties seeking the powers of the Act or Order — a clause
intended to prevent evasion of responsibilities x under the
Act, but somewhat difficult to make really effective inas-
much as many reasons, apart from the acquisition of the
land, might be plausibly advanced by ingenious minds.
In the execution of the housing scheme, resulting from
the dishousing, lands are to be appropriated for twenty-
five years from date for the purpose of dwellings for
working people, unless the central authority dispense with
this requirement. Other powers granted enable the central
authority to require new houses to be ready for occupation
before the proposed dwellings are taken, also to enforce the

1. The basis of the provisions of the schedule is to be found in the
Parliamentary Standing Orders, whose provisions had been evaded ac-
cording to evidence before the Joint Select Committee.

136 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

carrying out of the provisions of approved housing schemes
by mandamus. Entering on such workmen's dwellings
without consent of the central authority renders the
offender liable to a penalty of £500 in the case of each
dwelling taken. Not even the most ambitious administra-
tive body could ask for more lavish powers than Parliament
conferred upon the Local Government Board (or the
Secretary of State) in this matter. Included in the
schedule, by the way, will be noticed a further edition
of the standard " working class " definition, which is
clearer and more definite in its phraseology than its legal
predecessor.

With the Act of 1903, the present outline of housing
legislation necessarily comes to a close, though two further
chapters in this Part of the volume will deal with the
utilisation of the legislation. Parliament has certainly not
hesitated to provide our local authorities with wide ex-
tending powers. It would seem, as though the only thing
left was to place these powers into discreet and really effec-
tive operation.

137

CHAPTEE VII.
THE UTILISATION OF HOUSING LEGISLATION IN ENGLAND.

The development of housing legislation in this country
has been briefly covered in the preceding three chapters,
but only incidentally has anything been said as to the
extent to which it has been operative. It is important to
ascertain whether any material improvement in the housing
conditions of the poorer classes may be placed to the credit
of the various measures composing that legislation. In
1885, the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Work-
ing Classes came to the conclusion that, during the pre-
ceding thirty years, there had been a great improvement in
the dwellings of the working classes, and, no doubt, con-
siderable progress had been made, both in building and
sanitary regulation, in the direction of increased efficiency
of supervision. The local authorities, under the stimulus
of the greater publicity to which their conduct was sub-
jected by the press, had come to recognise more fully
their responsibilities and duties. But, as just indicated,
the means adopted by them to secure the health and, to
some degree, the comfort of the inhabitants of their res-
pective areas of jurisdiction had been those provided by
the sanitary and building Acts rather than by the housing
Acts, commonly so called. Fair progress had been made
in matters affecting the sanitary and structural supervision
of individual streets and houses, but there had been little
attempt to utilise the more or less radical powers, placed in
their hands by Parliament, either in the reconstruction of
insanitary areas, or in the demolition of houses unfit for
habitation or conducing to make other houses unfit, or in

138 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

the actual building up of new property. The evils result-
ing from the overcrowding both of houses and of persons,
which the housing legislation1 had been designed to cure,
were little mitigated. Though much legislation had been
provided, " the existing laws," reported the Royal Com-
mission, " were not put into force, some of them having
remained a dead letter from the date when they first found
place in the statute book."

When drafting this part of their report, the Commis-
sioners would have prominent in their minds, probably,
the instance of the Shaftesbury Act of 1851, which had
been almost totally ineffective. Local authorities had not
evidenced the slightest desire to make use of its powers;
only one exception to this general indifference towards the
Act is known to the writer — Huddersfield, where in 1853 a
municipal lodging house had been erected under the Act.
It seems, as the Permanent Secretary of the Local Govern-
ment Board indicated in his evidence before the Commis-
sion, that the Act had been generally regarded as providing
for the establishment of a superior kind of common lodging
house rather than for tenement dwelling houses, 2 and this
no doubt dissuaded municipalities from adopting it, as
there was a well-marked reluctance on their part to assume
the responsibility of the direct management of such places.
The vague wording of the Act afforded ground for such a
view of its purport, though its noble author hardly intended
it to be so limited ; indeed, in his evidence (1884), he went
so far as to assert that, if the Act had been put into
operation, it would have been found to provide almost
everything required in the way of legislative powers.
Fifteen years later, the Labouring Classes Dwelling Houses

1. Including under that phrase those portions of the sanitary Acts
which deal with overcrowding.

2. Royal Commission, 1884-5 evidence, 375.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 139

Act, 1866, in granting power both to local authorities,
companies, associations, and individuals to borrow money
for the provision of housing accommodation, employed the
wider term, 'dwellings,' without any limitation upon its
meaning, except that such accommodation should be for
the working classes. Certainly, many tenement dwellings
were erected by private enterprise under the facilities
afforded by this enactment, and as, according to its second
section, the 1866 measure was to be deemed incorporated
with that of 1851 and the two read together as one, it may
be assumed, with fair probability, that local authorities
could have interpreted the earlier Act in the light of the
later, and have proceeded to act accordingly. However,
they did not do so. The Secretary of the Public Works
Loan Board, in giving evidence before the Royal Com-
mission, stated that, up to March, 1884, only one loan under
the 1866 Act had been advanced to a local authority, the
one entitled to this distinction being Liverpool.1 Subse-
quent to the restrictions of the Treasury Minute made
under the powers of the Public Works Loans Act of 1879,
the larger municipal corporations were not likely to appeal
for advances to the Loan Commissioners, inasmuch as they
could probably borrow, on equally favourable terms, on
their own stock, and hence much evidence of them in the
accounts of the Commissioners after that date is not to be
expected; but neither there nor elsewhere is there any
record of dwelling or lodging houses in England being
erected by them under the Shaftesbury Acts, though
houses were erected under the requirements of local Acts,
as, in 1865, 1875, and 1880 by the Corporation of the City
of London under the Holborn Valley Improvement Act,
in 1882 by Huddersfield, and, after 1875, under the Cross

1. Royal Commission, 1884. 11169—11176.

140 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Acts, as by the Corporation of the City (Petticoat Square
site, 1877), and by Liverpool (Victoria Square and Juvenal
Dwellings).1 The latter borough, as we have noticed, did
borrow a sum of £13,000 from the Loan Commissioners,
but, while it thus availed itself of the facilities offered
under the 1866 Act, its action was really the result of
powers exercised under a local Sanitary Act obtained in
1864, so that the dwelling accommodation provided by the
Corporation in 1869 can hardly be directly attributed to
the stimulus of the Acts of 1866 and 1851.

In the case of parochial authorities, the indisposition to
assume the powers of the Act may have been intensified
by an unwillingness to undertake the work in the only
way the Act authorised them, namely, by appointing
Commissioners into whose hands the execution of its powers
had to be put. It has been urged also that the absence of
compulsory powers of purchase from the Act rendered it
an undesirable measure from the point of view of the local
authorities, inasmuch as, in treating for lands and
buildings by agreement, they would have found it very
difficult to purchase at a fair market price, vendors looking
upon municipal and similar bodies more or less as a
providential means of securing to themselves abnormal
rates of profit upon their transactions. Finally, and this
applies to many Acts besides the Shaftesbury one, there
was, with few exceptions, a widespread apathy on the part
of municipal bodies towards the undertaking of any further
duties than were already obligatory upon them.

Private enterprise, however, though not legislatively
recognised until 1855 (the Labourers' Dwellings Act) and
not financially assisted until 1866, was undoubtedly
stimulated by the facilities afforded. In addition to the
Metropolitan Association for Improving the Dwellings of

1. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 1901, pp. 222-3.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 141

the Industrious Classes (1847), and the Society for
Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes (1850),
which were established prior to the enacting of the
measures named, the following companies and other
organisations were all in operation prior to 1890 — the
Peabody Donation Fund Trustees (1864); the Improved
Industrial Dwellings Company, Ld. (1864) ; the Strand
Building Company (1867) ; the Artizans', Labourers', and
General Dwellings Company, Ld. (1867); Bell Street,
Edgware Road, Trust (1870); the National Dwellings
Society, Ld. (1875) ; the Victoria Dwellings Association
(1877) ; South London Dwellings Company, Ld. (1879) ; the
East End Dwellings Company, Ld. (1885) ; the Metropolitan
Industrial Dwellings Company, Ld. (1886) ; the Four Per
Cent. Industrial Dwellings Company, Ld. (1887) ; the
Tenements Dwellings Company, Ld. (1887) ; besides a
few similar organisations in the provinces, such as the
Newcastle Improved Industrial Dwellings Company, Ld.
(1870), and the Salford Improved Industrial Dwellings
Company, Ld. (1871). 1 The (London) Society for Improv-
ing the Condition of the Labouring Classes also did some
work in Hull. Under the 1866 and 1879 (Public Works
Loans Act) Acts, some of these undertakings borrowed
considerable sums from the Loans Commissioners. The
Metropolitan Board of Works, it may be noticed, sold most
of their sites, cleared under the Cross Acts, to the Peabody
Trustees, the Improved Industrial Dwellings Company,
and the East End Dwellings Company, the statutory re-
housing requirements being fulfilled by the purchasers.
The quarter of a century succeeding the year 1865 was a
period of marked activity on the part of these companies
and associations.

In connection with the 1866 and 1879 measures, the
Working Men's Dwellings Act of 1874, the clauses of which
1. As well as the Leeds Industrial Dwellings Co. (1876).

142 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

were substantially incorporated in Part V. of the Muni-
cipal Act, ought to be noticed. Though the powers con-
ferred were not made much use of, yet the statute might
have become very useful indeed, for just as the 1868 Act
facilitated the obtaining of monies, so this Act facilitated
the acquisition of sites, and a combination of this kind,
properly arranged and worked, might have enabled private
enterprise to accomplish great things in relieving the pres-
sure of population upon the cheaper sort of house accom-
modation. The Local Government Board reports covering
the years 1888 to 1905 record but six instances during those
years of the utilisation of the statute — Carlisle and Lei-
cester in 1898-99, Devizes in 1900-01, Devizes again and
Marlborough in 1901-02, and Marlborough again in 1904-5.
Each year, since 1888, the Local Government Board has
published in Appendix D. of its report a table headed
" Instruments issued by the Local Government Board to
Municipal Corporations under the Municipal Corporations
Act, 1882, in respect of purposes other than the raising
of loans during the year ending on the 31st March, . . .,"
and it is in this appendix that the references to the above
named places are to be found. Prior to 1888, the powers
exercised by the Board with reference to the corporate
property and liabilities of municipal corporations belonged
to the Treasury;1 hence the Local Government Board re-
ports give no record of instruments issued before that year.
The Torrens Act of 1868, subsequently amended in 1879,
1882, and 1885, was based upon the principle " that the
responsibility of maintaining his houses in proper condition
falls upon the owner, and that if he fails in his duty, the
law is justified in stepping in and compelling him to
perform it." It further assumes " that houses unfit for
human habitation ought not to be used as dwellings,

1. Local Government Board Report, 1888 — 89, p. 21.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 143

but ought, in the interests of the public, to be cleared and
demolished, and to be subsequently rebuilt. The ex-
propriation of the owner is thus a secondaiy step in the
transaction, and only takes place after the failure of other
means of rendering the houses habitable." l The principle
thus enunciated is a satisfactory one, but it was found
difficult to carry it into effect, and as a result very little
action was taken under these Acts. According to the
statement of the representative of the Local Government
Board, made before the Royal Commission, no appeal of
householders, as provided for by the 1868 Act, in the case
of a local authority neglecting to enforce its provisions,
had ever come before the Board,2 and in only one case
(Parish of Marylebone) had they been asked to appoint
an arbitrator under the Torrens Acts.3 By the 1879
amendment, the Metropolitan Board of Works had been
given powers to enforce the Act where the local authority
declined or failed to act, but the Commissioners were
assured that this privilege had never been exercised, nor
that given, in 1882, to Boards of Guardians, granting
them the right to make a complaint to the Metropolitan
Board of Works upon the failure of the local authority
to act.4 The former considered the clauses of the 1879
Act, bearing upon their power of interference, obscure,
and so took refuge from litigation in inaction. Facts like
these testified pointedly to the practical failure of the Act
as an operative measure. According to a Parliamentary
Eeturn issued in 1889, during the half-dozen years 1883-88
there were only four towns outside of the Metropolis where
it was put into effect, viz., Manchester, Nottingham,
Oldham, and West Ham. Where the local authorities

1. Draft Report of Chairman. Select Committee, 1881-2.

2. Royal Commission, 1885 — 337.

3. 76. 314.

4. Royal Commission, 1885 — 333.

144 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

did anything at all, they generally preferred to work under
the sanitary Acts or local Acts. Thus, Limehouse, St.
Leonard (Shoreditch), and Stroud took action under the
Nuisances Removal Acts, Birmingham under the Health
Act of 18T5, and Bolton, Bradford, Leeds, Liverpool and
Salford under local Acts of one kind or another. It is
significant that the Return names eight urban sanitary
districts with a population of not less than 100,000 people
each, and fifteen London parishes, in which proceedings
had not been taken under the Acts, and for which no
information had been furnished to the authorities as to
whether action had been taken under local Acts. The
details of such action as was taken under the Torrens Acts
during the years mentioned will be found in the following
table, taken from Parliamentary Return 287, 1889 : —

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 145

TABLE XXI.
LIST OF URBAN SANITARY DISTRICTS WITH A POPULATION

OF NOT LESS THAN 100,000, AND OF PARISHES OR

DISTRICTS IN THE METROPOLIS, WHERE PROCEEDINGS
WERE TAKEN UNDER THE TORRENS ACTS DURING THE
PERIOD 1883—88.

II S 8 I U

Name of District or j*2 | I||||

Parish. Year. £%o£ £2S«|3 g 2 g g| §£

Manchester 1886 160 135 135

Nottingham 1883 21 21 21

1884 59 59 59

1885 5 55

1886 17 17 17

1887 5 55

, 1888 17 17 17

Oldham 1884 5 5 *5

1887 2 2 t2

1888 3 3 J3

West Ham 1884 23 23 23

1885 6 66

1887 1 11

1888 1 11

Parishes or Districts

in the Metropolis... 1883-88 **1632 ft 863 837

* Permanently closed. t Repaired : at date of return in process of
sale for demolition. £0ne permanently closed. Two closed for repairs.

**Dealt with under Sanitary Acts 207

Works undertaken or dwelling closed voluntarily by owner ... 17
Owner undertook not to let or use premises for human habitation 1

Demolished under improvement scheme 40

In hand at time of return 24

Reports not entertained by local authority 86

No further proceedings 394

769

ttLapsed 10

Not carried out 16

146 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

During the period covered by the Return, no memorial
had been addressed to the Secretary of State or to the
Local Government Board protesting against the refusal
or neglect of local authorities to put the Act into force :
we have seen that this was also the case in the decade and
a half preceding the holding of the Koyal Commission.1

There were certainly real difficulties in the Torrens code
which deterred local authorities from utilizing it. One
of the most conspicuous of these was the fact that the
amending Act of 1879 enabled owners of property, upon
which a repairing order had been made, to demand that
the local authority should purchase — a most efficacious
means of preventing them from making such orders. This
clause was too absurd to have a very long existence, and
so in 1885 it was struck out. The real intent of the Act,
moreover, could often be evaded by a delusive system of
repairs; the owners might execute just sufficient repairs
to satisfy the justices to whom an appeal would be made,
though by no means enough to place the property in good
sanitary condition : thus the object of the repairing order
would be frustrated. In one way or another, the opera-
tion of the Acts was likely to cause much trouble to local
authorities at the risk of accomplishing very little, and,
where something was accomplished, heavy expenses were
likely to be incurred. Facility of appeal, rigidity of arbi-
tration, and prof useness of compensation are defects potent
to nullify the usefulness of any legislation. Nor were
these the only weak points in the Torrens Acts. Unhealthy
dwellings, compelled to be repaired or reconstructed, sprang
up again on the same site, the street or court remaining
as congested as ever, unless further measures could be

1. Torrens Act being passed in 1868, the statement in the text thus
covers twenty-one years ; it may be added that the short time intervening
between 1888 and the passing of the 1890 Act witnessed no change in
this respect.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 147

adopted. Obstructive buildings, after 1882, could be de-
molished and their sites kept as open spaces or highways,
but a fairly considerable area might require entire recon-
struction, and yet be too small to justify the costly processes
of the Cross Acts. Ultimately in 1890, as we have seen,
this was reached by allowing small areas to be dealt with
under Part II. (which was modelled upon the Torrens
Acts), but, even prior to this, a step had been made in the
same direction by the rule of the 1882 Act that representa-
tions dealing with not more than ten houses should be
dealt with under the Torrens Acts. In connection with
the handling of schemes under the Cross and Torrens Acts,
much friction arose between the Metropolitan Board and
the local vestries within its area of jurisdiction. The
latter were anxious to have as many of their schemes as
possible treated under the Cross Acts and thus thrown as
a charge upon the whole Metropolis, the former's anxiety
was just in the opposite direction and hence there was
a constant shuffling of responsibilities,1 until at last the
1885 Act settled the matter by empowering the Secretary
of State to hold an inquiry and decide.

The Cross Acts proceeded upon a different principle
from the Torrens. " They contemplate dealing with whole
areas, where the houses are so structurally defective as to
be incapable of repair, and so ill-placed with reference to
each other as to require, to bring them up to a proper
sanitary standard, nothing short of demolition and recon-
struction. Accordingly, in this case the local authority,
armed with compulsory powers, at once enters as a pur-
chaser, and on completion of the purchase proceeds forth-
with to a scheme of reconstruction." 2 Like the preceding
series, they were largely neglected, though perhaps not to

1. Royal Commission, 1884—329, 341, 342.

2. Draft Report of Chairman, Select Committee, 1881-2.

148 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

the same extent. The chief reason for this neglect seems
to have been the great expense entailed by procedure under
their powers. Mr. Shaw Lefevre's evidence in 1884 stated
that eleven improvement schemes carried out in London
under the Cross Acts resulted in a loss of £1,250,000, to
the Metropolitan Board of "Works,1 and of this sum no
less than £400,000 was due to excessive valuation. Mr.
Chamberlain estimated the cost of the Birmingham scheme
under the Act to be £300,000 or £400,000 over the ordinary
market value,2 and this in spite of the very carefully
worded arbitration clauses of the Act. The causes of such
high compensation are not difficult to ascertain, and as
they still operate to a greater or less degree, it is worth
while briefly considering them. For one thing, there
appeared to be a constant tendency on the part of arbi-
trators and juries to deal veiy liberally with the monies
of the local authorities. Not for one moment is it sug-
gested that either arbitrators or juries did not strive their
utmost to come to a fair and just award, but the contest
between local authority and private owner often seemed
like a struggle between a giant and a dwarf, between strong
and weak, and consequently there was a natural disposition
to emphasize every point in favour of the latter. Probably
the thought was always present that the former had an
inexhaustible purse to draw upon, in the shape of the rates.
But there were other forces at work over which arbitrators
had no control. From the enhancement of rental value
by the overcrowding of individuals within a house proper
deductions were to be made, but no provision was made for
enhanced value brought about by overcrowding of houses
upon an area whereby its rent and the rent of the houses
were driven up, and compensation necessarily raised above

1. Royal Commission, 1885 — 12634.

2. 76., p. 34 of Report.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 149

the normal — yet the evils resulting from house overcrowd-
ing are as serious, indirectly if not directly, as those from
human overcrowding. Another circumstance, making for
increased compensation, was the number of interests in-
volved in the ownership of land and the buildings upon
it. As was pointed out to the Commission, besides the
ground landlord there would be, perhaps, two or three
intervening persons between him and the ultimate tenant.
All these lessees and sub-lessees had to be compensated
and though it would have been proper simply to divide
the amount of compensation that would have been due
to a single interest in the property, in practice, this was
very far from what was done; (generally, the greater the
number of interests, the larger was the compensation and
of course the law costs. Apart from such conditions, the
original Cross Act, in one particular, directly influenced
the arbitrators to increase the amount of compensation,
the clause, namely, in which they were instructed, in
assessing the compensation payable in respect of lands or
interests taken compulsorily, to take into account " all
circumstances affecting such value." A more than literal
obedience to the clause was given, for, in numerous in-
stances, the fortunate proprietors of condemned property
— unfit for habitation — received as much compensation as
though their houses were in a most satisfactory condition.
The Select Committee (1881-82) had clear evidence before
them that the arbitrators had been influenced by the clause
to increase the valuation, and as a result it was struck out,
by the 1882 Act, both from the Cross Act of 1875 and
the Torrens Act of 1879.

The Cross Act as originally framed rigidly insisted upon
the rehousing of as many people of the working classes as
were displaced, by a scheme under it, within or near the
area of improvement. Such rehousing was very expensive

ISO THE HOUSING PROBLEM

and sometimes seemed somewhat unnecessary inasmuch as,
during the period of the clearing and reconstruction of
the area, the former tenants had secured fresh accommoda-
tion in which they had settled down again, and, as a
result, the tenants of the new dwellings were far from
being identical with those displaced. After four years5
working of the Act the absolute restriction of the locality
of the rehousing was found to be impracticable, and, in
three years more, that is in 1882, the rule requiring the
rehousing of all persons (of the working classes) displaced
was recognised to be unnecessarily strict, and, so in the
1879 and 1882 amendments, permission to modify these
requirements was granted to the central authority.

Another defect attaching to the Cross Act, as also to
the Torrens, was the dilatory mode of procedure it
countenanced. In each successive measure amending the
1875 Act there is evidence of an effort to remove causes
of unnecessary delay, markedly testifying to the difficulty
that existed in securing its expeditious working. All of
these difficulties and impediments were strongly complained
of by the Metropolitan Board of Works. One restriction
they felt very keenly was the prohibition of the sale of
cleared sites except under the obligation that working class
dwellings should be built thereon, for this prevented them
obtaining more than one fifth of the commercial value of
the land which they themselves had to pay. For example,
under the 1887 St. Luke's scheme, land, worth commercially
Is. 2d. per square foot, had to be sold, on account of the
limitation of its use, for twenty years' purchase at a rent of
3d. per square foot.1 In view of the many difficulties
experienced by local authorities in the working of the
Cross Acts, especially during the period 1875 to 1882, it

1. Stewart : Housing Question in London.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 151

is not surprising that extensive schemes of reform were not
common. Still, though comparatively neglected, a certain
amount of action was taken under them, particularly by
the Metropolitan Board of Works, who borrowed nearly
£1| millions for the purpose of the Act, £1,330,000 of
which was borrowed between 1878 and 1881 inclusive.
Prior to 1889 this body had completed sixteen schemes
and initiated six others which were completed, by the
London County Council. The cost of the sixteen schemes
worked out at £1,323,415 though it had been estimated at
£759,424 : under them 22, 868 persons were displaced, and
27,780 rehoused. The remaining six schemes cost £281,673,
about £54,000 above the estimate, and displaced 6,188
persons, rehousing 2,930. It should be borne in mind that
the Metropolitan Board did not undertake any rehousing,
but simply sold the sites at nominal prices to various com-
panies for building working class dwellings, these com-
panies erecting 7,026 dwellings containing 14,093 rooms.
The following table summarises the work done.

TABLE XXII.
ACTIVITY OF THE METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS — CROSS

ACTS.1

Number

Extent Number of

Estimated Cost Actual of areas of Persons Persons

of Clearances. net Cost. dealt with, displaced. rehoused.

£ £ Acres.

16 Schemes* 759,424 1,323,415 42^7 22,868 27,780
6 Schemes t 227,930 281,673 819/20 6,188 2,930

* Completed. t Commenced — completed by London County Council.
1. For further details see Parliamentary Return 275, April 1888.

152 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

In 1877, the Commissioners of Sewers of the City of
London cleared the Golden Lane and Petticoat Square
neighbourhoods under the Act, l Liverpool cleared two sites,
Birmingham distinguished itself, immediately after the
passing of the Act, by initiating quite an extensive clear-
ance, an example followed by its neighbour, Wolverhamp-
ton ; Swansea, Walsall and Norwich also took action under
its powers, borrowing monies for the purpose from the
Loans Commissioners. A Parliamentary Return, issued in
1888, gives interesting details concerning the work done
by the provincial urban sanitary authorities from the date
of the enactment of the Cross Act to the April of 1888,
and it may be taken as practically covering the whole
period prior to the 1890 Act.2 The information is tabu-
lated as shown on the following page.

Date of Number
Improvement of areas
Scheme. referred to.

Oct., 1876 ... 4 ...

Two official representations were made, affecting 22 areas covering
458,970 square feet, four of whish were proceeded with as above. Of
the remaining 18, one was in abeyance at the date of the return from
which these particulars are abstracted (April, 1888), and, with regard
to the other 17, the houses had been pulled or were being pulled down
or alterations carried out without any further action on the part of the
Commissioners. In three cases, railway extensions accounted for the
demolition.

2. Birmingham was given authority, in 1887, to raise £100,000, and, in
1890, £4,000.

Size
Sq. Ft

for purposes
of the Act.

of Improvement
Scheme.

Actual
Cost.

126,390

... £347,000

... £284,544 .,

.. £328,765

Independent
of buildings.

Including
buildings, but
exclusive of
interest or
loans.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION

153

TABLE XXIII.

IMPROVEMENT SCHEMES OF PROVINCIAL URBAN SANITARY
AUTHORITIES, UNDER THE CROSS ACTS, 1875 — 85.

«4 * <0

rtpo

Money

Estimated

Actual cost

° o g

•gs

borrowed

cost of such

of such

III

Urban Sanitary
Authority.

Size.

for purposes
of Acts.

Improvement
Scheme.

1875

Nottingham . . .

1306 sq. yds

None

1,000

A profit of

£84 14 5

Liverpoool

4 acs. 1 rd. 5 pis.

130,000

Total 92,600
Net 62,254

£67,197, cost of
land and clearing

For acquiring

same. £63,629,

land and clear-

cost of 5 blocks

ing same

of dwellings,

322 tenements

1876

Wolverhampton

1 1 acres, 3 roods

228,239

Total 162,307

£231,652

Net 45,307

This is capital

expenditure

Walsall

2acs. 2rds. 2pls.

15,000

Total 17,000

£17,799

Net 10,510

Birmingham . . .

93 acres

1,650,000

1,344,000

£1,644,869 18 5

(Original

to date of return

estimate)

Swansea

llacs. Ird. 18pls,

120,979

Total 61,280

£120,979

Net 11,044

1877

Norwich

2 acres, 2 roods

10,000

Net 20,800

£9,406 19 11

Devonport

3 acres, 35 poles

None

Net 35,000

£1,546

1878

Newcastle-on-

5,533 sq. yds.

None

Total 40,000

Scheme

Tyne

Net 18,300

abandoned

Derby

6acs. Ird. 3 pis.

None

Total 86,540

Nothing done by

Net 37,774

Town Council at

date of return

1881

Nottingham ...

12,813 sq. yds.

160.000

Total 84,500

Not ascertainable

Net 35,500

at date of return

The Return also states that official representations were
made at Dover (1875), Exeter (1876), Nottingham (1876),1
Hastings (1877),2 Brighton (1877),3 Sheffield (1877),4 and
Ilfracombe (1888) ,5 but no provisional orders had been

1. Some buildings purchased at a cost of £134. Is. 3d.

2. Local authority considered it too expensive.

3. Question deferred.

4. Complaint by upwards of 12 ratepayers to the medical officer of
health, but he " represented " against their complaint, and no further
action was taken.

5. Local Board deemed an improvement scheme unnecessary.

154 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

applied for up to the date of the Return. Manchester,
it is recorded, had taken action under local Acts and under
the Torrens Acts, Salford under a local Act, and York
under the Public Health Act.

Thus far in the chapter, attention has been concentrated
upon the working of legislation prior to 1890, this date
being chosen not because it marks an organic change in
the nature or scope of the particular class of legislation
now being studied, but simply on account of its convenience
for retrospection and criticism. As stated in an earlier
chapter, the period since 1890 has not witnessed substantial
alteration in the composition of the law. When, in that year,
the three series of Acts, Cross, Torrens, and Shaftesbury,
were consolidated, modifications in their provisions were
made with the object of removing some of the difficulties that
had been experienced in the working of the previous Acts.
To a certain extent, this was successful though, accepting
for the moment the policy indicated in the Act and in
its predecessors as a proper and justifiable one, it is still
possible to discover points in the practical application of
its powers which denote that the amending process may
still continue. Indeed, since the date of the Act, there
has been agitation by municipal authorities and individual
reformers, aiming at a more or less radical overhauling of
the powers and duties therein conferred by Parliament
upon local government. "With regard to the alteration
of the Act so as to make it more successful along the
line of policy it pursues, there are certain specific changes
which the weight of public opinion seems to favour. I
must confess to some hesitation in using the phrase "public
opinion " here, because it is questionable whether public
opinion is a good guide. The great masses of the people
of all classes, I fear, have no opinion upon the matter,
or, if they have, its value is vitiated often enough by a state

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 155

of mind that condemns or approves of any course of action
just as it varies from or agrees with the precepts of the
socialism of the man in the street. Whether these precepts
are right or wrong, obviously each case ought to be analysed
unbiasedly and judged upon its own merits, but this is
just what people in general do not do. Yet it may be
assumed, perhaps, that municipal bodies, which are sup-
posed to represent and to come into immediate touch with
the people, have given more careful consideration to a
matter affecting the welfare of their constituents. Cer-
tainly, these bodies have clearly marked their approval
of the modus operandi of the law : their desires are in the
way of amendment with the object of increasing their
powers and enabling them to enter more actively into the
combined work of housing and dishousing. One of the
largest, most representative, and most influential author-
ities of local government is the London County Council,
and, in a report of the work carried on under the Housing
Acts by the Committee of the Council charged with the
same, made in 1900,1 there were embodied definite pro-
posals which both mark out the general policy of the Metro-
politan local parliament and also may be taken as a fairly
accurate index of the trend of municipal opinion, as well
as indicating the difficulties which both the London County
Council and other local authorities had experienced, up
to the date of the report, in putting the Act into opera-
tion.2 It is not necessaiy to enter into a description of
every amendment proposed in the report to which reference
has been made, and attention will be confined to the more
important ones such as would materially affect the action

1. Stewart — The Housing Question in London.

2. The Report of the Glasgow Municipal Commission on the Housing
of the Poor (1904) and also the Recommendations of the Citizens' Associa-
tion of Manchester upon Housing Conditions in Manchester and Salford
(T. .R Marr, 1904) should not be overlooked in this regard.

156 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

of local authorities in general, if adopted. These were as
follows : — (1) After the lapse of three years from the clear-
ance, a Part I. scheme should be capable of being modified
by a local authority, so that the land may be sold free
from the conditions of the scheme, other lands being ac-
quired with the purchase money upon which the accom-
modation for the working classes should be provided. (2)
Power should be given to a local authority to insert a better-
ment clause in any scheme under the Act. (3) A provi-
sion should be included in Part II. fixing the value of
the property at the time of the service of the notice upon
the person interested as the value to be compensated. (4)
The local authority should be empowered, in the case of
property which cannot be rendered fit for human habita-
tion without reconstruction, to proceed for closing orders
without first serving notice to repair. (5) The local auth-
ority should be able to acquire, under a Part II. scheme,
neighbouring lands, if necessary to the effective operation
of the scheme. (6) To prevent any dealing with property,
to which a scheme should be applied, in anticipation of its
being acquired under a scheme, and to facilitate the making
of such schemes, immediately upon the passing of a reso-
lution by the local authority declaring any area to be in-
sanitary, an inspection should be made on behalf of the
confirming authority, the result of which should be con-
clusive as to the condition of the property for the purpose
of the local inquiry held later on after the formulation
of a scheme. (7) The confirming authority should have
power, under proper conditions, of including in a scheme
further properties than are comprised in the scheme as
originally drawn. (8) The local authority should not be
required to sell and dispose of, within ten years, houses
erected under a Part I. scheme. (9) The compensation
clauses should be modified, and, in particular, it should

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 157

be made the duty of the freeholder to see that dwelling
houses on his property are fit for human habitation : if
an official representation be made under the Act, he should
have power to re-enter into possession, with only the ob-
ligation imposed of re-building, upon the site, houses for
the working classes. Should the freeholder fail to fulfil
this obligation, the local authority should be empowered
to take possession of the land, paying only the market
value of the land subject to the obligation to rehouse
persons of the working classes, and should then be required
to rebuild such dwelling houses on that site.1

Some of these proposals have already materialised into
actual legislation, the powers desired under both Clauses 4
and 5 having been granted by the 1903 Housing Act,
thereby constituting a distinct improvement in the portions
of the housing law affected.2

There seems to be no logical ground for objection to
Clause 1, as it represents merely the further application
of a principle already acknowledged in the later modifica-
tions of the State housing policy. The incorporation of
the powers detailed under both this Clause and Clauses 3
and 6 would certainly tend towards economy in the
handling of improvement schemes. While personally I
do not favour too frequent resort to extensive schemes of
demolition and reconstruction, such schemes are, at times,
undoubtedly necessary and desirable; hence, every feasible
and proper means of reducing any abnormal expense
likely to arise from their execution should be provided for
in our legislation. As regards the removal of the time
limitation upon houses erected by a local authority under
a Part I. scheme, referred to in Clause 8, it seems incon-

1. Stewart — Housing Question in London, pp. 60 — 6.

2. The seventh recommendation is somewhat vaguely phrased, but
may be considered to have been followed in part by the sixth section of
the 1903 Act.

158 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

sistent with the privilege granted to the same local
authority to erect dwellings, under Part III., without any-
time limit ; in this matter, there is hardly a sound basis of
reason for differentiation between the powers of the two
parts, and, if the principle of Part III. is a correct one,
the local authority should be able to retain its ownership
of Part I. dwellings without the necessity of obtaining
special permission from the central authority at the
expiration of ten years.1

The issue raised by Clause 7 of the above London County
Council recommendations is not so easily determined; in
fact, it may raise the whole question of direct Parlia-
mentary supervision. This I do not propose to discuss at
present, but may say that Section 15 of the 1890 Act
provides for modifications of a Part I. scheme with the
restriction that, if a larger public expenditure is to be
incurred than provided for by the original scheme, the
sanction of Parliament must again be sought ; but, under
the extended powers of the 1903 amending measure, it is
evident that neither in the original nor in the modified
schemes, where there is no opposition to the same, is it
necessary for the confirming authority to have recourse
to Parliament. The time may come when, even in
schemes where compulsory purchase of lands is included,
the final power will lie with the Local Government Board,
except in cases where that body and the local authority
may disagree and refer to the Legislature as an arbitrator.

The second and ninth Clauses are noteworthy because
they touch upon quite controversial questions, and indicate
that the London County Council, though sometimes

1. The clause to which reference is made is Para. 5, Sect. 12 of Part I.
of the Act — " If the local authority erect any dwelling out of funds to
be proyided under this part of this Act, they shall, unless the con-
firming authority otherwise determine, sell and dispose of all such
dwellings within ten years from the time of the completion thereof."

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 159

accused of being over-sparing in the exhibition of its
wisdom, is, at any rate, not lacking in courage. The
latter clause seeks to place powers in the hands of every
local authority that might be discreetly used or very
indiscreetly, and it is to be feared that an enthusiastic
Council might be carried away on a wave of reforming
zeal to cause more unsettling of local social stability and
more resulting mischief than half a century might put
right. Without pretending to say the last word upon the
subject, it would seem reasonable to urge that the closing
and other powers, exerciseable by the local authority
through the courts, enable that body to penalise pretty
severely the parties immediately responsible, viz., the
occupiers and the owner of the buildings, whether the
latter be the freeholder or not ; to go further than this, in
the present involved conditions of land and property
ownership is not a practicable proposition.

The second clause brings up the ' betterment' problem,
and it should be at once noticed that a modified application
of the principle of betterment was admitted into a Torrens
scheme so long ago as the year 1879 and extended in 1882,
the provision being also reproduced in the 1890 Act
(Section 38). Hardly anyone would dispute, from a
theoretical point of view alone, the desirability of a
system of betterment in the improvement of public
property, but the broad application of the principle
presents a problem of the greatest difficulty. The
arguments against the practicability of the principle are
familiar, but may be briefly restated. Under a Part I.
scheme, how far from the area is the arbitrator to extend
his betterment? If this be fixed in the scheme, it is
bound to be somewhat arbitrary in its limits, and, if no
such limits are fixed, how is he to make an investigation
which may be almost illimitable in scope? In any case,

i6o THE HOUSING PROBLEM

the time required for a proper inquiry would cause much
delay in the award and considerable inconvenience. The
inhabitants of the vicinity of an improved area are
bearing, under the present general system of local taxation,
a portion of the burden of the expense of improving other
localities ; now if they are to pay for their own betterment,
would they not be entitled to ask to be relieved from a
portion of the tax burden they bear for other districts
within the same municipality? This would involve a re-
arrangement of local taxation, a difficulty in itself.
These are practical obstacles in the way of a broad
application of the system of betterment. The more general
arguments against it are concisely stated by Dr. E. Schuster
in E/. H. Inglis-Palgrave's Dictionary of Political Economy,
namely: — (1) There is hardly any public expenditure
which does not benefit somebody, and it would be obviously
unfair to give away these benefits in some cases and sell
them in others. (2) If public bodies may ask for contri-
bution from persons benefited by their expenditure,
irrespectively of the objects of the expenditure, private
corporations or individuals ought to have the same right.
(3) It is dangerous to establish a principle of taxation,
the incidence of which, instead of being determined by
definite general rules, depends on the discretion of one or
more individuals whose fitness cannot be ascertained
beforehand, and upon a calculation of probabilities which
may, and frequently will, be erroneous. (4) If the effect
of public expenditure on private property is to be con-
sidered at all, irrespectively of the object of the expen-
diture, the loss ought to be considered as well as the gain.
The 1882 and 1890 enactments extended the principle
of betterment from property of the same owner to the
property of any owner; no doubt, it would be inequitable
that only owners of property dealt with should be liable to

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 161

pay for the betterment of their own property in the
neighbourhood, and that other owners, though sharing
equally in the benefit, should escape free from any burden
of this kind, but the extension makes the practical applica-
tion of the principle immensely more difficult. Yet, if it
is right to apply it in one case, surely it must be so in all,
and so the London County Council, accepting the provision
for betterment already made in Part II. of the Act, are
logically justified in pressing for its extension to all cases.
But how they intend to overcome the inherent difficulties
of the principle is beyond the present comprehension of
the writer.

Upon the discussion of the London policy much more
could, be said not without profit, but space forbids, and
I must hasten to note briefly something of the actual
work being done under present conditions. To-day, it
is almost unnecessary to observe that, since the passing
of the Housing of the Working Classes Act of 1890, and
especially since Part III. was amended in 1900, muni-
cipalities up and down the country have more and more
freely availed themselves of the powers embodied there-
in. The London County Council not only completed
the six demolition schemes left over to them by their
predecessors, the Board of Works, but entered on a
number of new schemes of both demolition and hous-
ing. Some of their projects under Part III. are most
extensive in scope, such as the Tooting l and Norbury 2
schemes, and especially the famous Wood Green and
Tottenham scheme under which the Council propose to
house ultimately 42,500 persons in 5,779 cottages on an
area of some 225 acres.3 Among work of the Council

1. When completed, will provide accommodation for 8,432 persons on
38£ acres at an estimated cost of £400.000.

2. Proposed to accommodate 5,800 persons on 31 acres.

3. See Municipal Year Book, 1906, p. 473 ; also Economic Journal,
June, 1902, p. 263.

162 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

under Part I. may be mentioned the Boundary Street,
Clare Market, Clerkenwell and Holborn, Garden Row, and
Southwark improvements, and they have also executed
some smaller schemes under Part II. In London, it will
be remembered, the administration of Part I. is reserved
to the County Council, who may also undertake Part II.
and Part III. schemes; in the case of Part II. schemes, a
contribution of from one-third to one-half of the net cost
is usually obtained from the local Council having jurisdic-
tion over the borough wherein the area treated is situated.
In a similar way, Part II. schemes undertaken by the
local Councils are helped to the same extent by the County
Council. The London Borough Councils date only from
November, 1900, when they entered upon their duties as
Councils under the provisions of the London Government
Act of 1899 (62 & 63 Viet. c. 14), and all powers exercised
by them under Part III. date from that time; details of
their action under this Part may be found in the Municipal
Year Book for the current year.1

Through the kindness of the Clerk of the Council, Mr.
G. L. Gomme, I am enabled to give the following table,
presenting a concise conspectus of the housing work done
by the London County Council up to March 31st, 1906 : —

1. For 1906 Year Book— see pages 478—481.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 163

I I

•§

CO
00

o *3

-8

S o'H

rH o 4J

i §

•I I1!

! W

^ S ^

No. of p
Working

i 3

rP 00
OT r-T

OD
CM

CO
rf

<-d

__ ^™

2 »— i

•3 03

I*
II

S .t3
^ 'o

A C

i— r o

1 11

j3 g <q

111

•c 3

o o

164

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

•X

» . '

§'

•**

n >

o '53

O 2 ^

10"

CO
rH

^o^

i *~^

rH
CO

-b-

be
rt

• F— 1

ijjl

-S

I-sl-sl S

^ CO

Plli

CO~

«s

i— 1

'o
d

"0*1

•«fl

c<T

co""

co~

-Q

O »H

5 '

CO
0

>^OS

co"

<N~

T-T

i>r

i-o r-

r& rd"

K g
33 §

-2

rrt ^

>«§

> i

°5

CO
rH

T— 1

Oi
lO

•1-1

T"H

jll

i— r

CM"

IT5

p£

O r*

kft

~*^

H §

co~

*5a

CO
rH

i-T

•M

02 *-M

02 > co

J-i <T>

i— i

Particulars o

ry authority under
lich dwellings
provided.

iVirmcTTirr

^^ be

[Jlj

) Under variou
street im
provement,
&c., scheme

adi 3

•s « s ^

^y t^ pj p 1

* Including 1

& a

Jj^ PH PH

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 165

In addition to the above, accommodation for 68,306
persons of the working class, divided as follows, is in
course of erection or projected: —

(i.) Rehousing

(a) From insanitary areas under Parts I. and

II. of the Housing Act ... ... ... 3,256

(6) From street improvements ... ... 1,256

(ii.) Housing.

Schemes under Part III. of the Housing Act 63,794

68,306

Before passing from London to the provinces, some
reference may appropriately be made to the housing
accomplished in the former place by organised private
effort. Following will be found a table which, without
being exhaustive, gives a very good idea of the amount of
work actually accomplished by some of the most important
philanthropic and commercial housing associations and
companies. Besides those named in the table, other
associations and companies undertook similar work, such as
the Society for Improving the Condition of the Labouring
Classes, the Strand Building Company, the. Bell Street,
Edgware Road, Trust, the National Dwellings Society, Ltd.,
Hayle's Charity Estate (Lambeth) Trustees, the Tenements
Dwellings Company, Ltd., and the County of London
Improved Dwellings Company, Ltd. The joint efforts of
all these bodies must have succeeded in housing in London
at the very least 125,000 persons, which compares well
with the approximate 33,847 persons already housed or
rehoused by the London County Council, or even with
that figure plus the 68,306 persons in incomplete or
projected schemes, as recorded in Table XXIV. However,
during recent years, the activity of the local authorities

166 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

lias been greater than that of the private housing associa-
tions. In fact, the older established bodies seem to have
made no forward movement for a number of years. Of
those established within the last twenty years, the Guiness
Trust is noteworthy as having housed nearly 10,000
persons; it will be noticed from a subsequent table that
this body borrowed from the Public Works Loan Com-
missioners for building purposes £20,000 in 1902, a fairly
positive sign of recent activity. Reference to this same
table (No. XXX.) evidences a house-building movement
steadily maintained for many years by Hayle's Charity
Estate Trustees, and among the workmen's dwellings com-
panies the energy being put into building by the East End
Dwellings Company, which borrowed from the Commis-
sioners, 1891 — 1905, about £194,000, is very striking when
compared with the record of the others. By the close of
1905, the East End Company had provided dwellings for
nearly 7,500 persons : its first building was opened in 1885.
Such organisations as the Peabody Trust had their period
of greatest activity when they were able to secure, from the
old Metropolitan Board of Works, sites at but a fraction of
their commercial value, but the London County Council
has followed a different policy and has been actively
engaged in house-building on its own account, thereby
apparently reducing the older housing organisations to a
state of passive ness.

The table immediately following has been drawn up in
similar form to the one included in Stewart's report of the
work done by the Housing of the Working Classes Com-
mittee of the London County Council. In one case, cir-
cumstances have unfortunately compelled me to be content
with the statistics given in that report; in all the re-
maining instances, by the kindness of the companies and
associations concerned, I have been able to bring the in-
formation up to the latest practicable date.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 169

The consideration of private housing-reform, effort in
London should not be left without some reference, brief
though it must be, to Miss Octavia Hill's work. Miss Hill
acquired, in the slums of London, a number of dwellings,
overcrowded and in a poor state of repair. Using ex-
cellent judgment and tact, she proceeded to improve the
property and to get rid of the overcrowding, keeping strict
watch over the conduct of the tenants by a system of rent
collection and inspection carried on by voluntary workers.
From all accounts, the result proved quite successful, and,
in but few cases, did the property fail to give a five per
cent, return on its value. Municipalities have the power,
under the 1890 Act, of purchasing and readapting existing
dwellings but, with one or two exceptions, have not so
far attempted to do anything in this direction. A little
has been done by some of the provincial dwellings com-
panies, in Leeds and Glasgow for instance.1

The need of housing reform has been kept to the front
by the Mansion House Council on the Dwellings of the
Poor, also by the National Housing Reform Council, both
with headquarters in London, but giving attention also
to conditions in the provinces. It may be stated that the
movement towards municipal house building has been
strongly supported by these Councils. How far they are
prepared to go is indicated by the following clause of the
programme of the Liverpool Housing Association, which
is affiliated with the National Housing Reform Council.
According to the programme, one of the objects of this
Association is " To call public attention to the general rise
in rents which has ensued upon the cheapening of convey-
ance by the municipalisation of the tramway service, and to
advocate municipal ownership of land and house property

1. For a brief description of the work referred to, see The Housing
Handbook, by W. Thompson, Chapter XVII.

170 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

as- the only means of preventing this appropriation by in-
dividuals of the financial benefit of all municipal improve-
ments." l

The provincial towns, though hesitant at first, have not
been backward of late years in employing the powers of
the 1890 Act; the amendment of that Act by the 1900
measure greatly stimulated their use of it. Some notion
of the extent of housing work carried on by the local auth-
orities other than those of London can be gained from the
annual reports of the Local Government Board, whose
consent is required for loans made under the Acts, in what-
ever way they are to be obtained. But a good deal of work
can be done under Part II., for which it is not necessary
to apply for permission to borrow, and hence the loan
statistics relating to this Part must not be looked upon as
indicating the whole of the work undertaken under its
powers : the loans named in Table XXVI. are in connec-
tion with schemes for the improvement of small areas.
Referring to the table, it appears that, from 1891 to 1904,
loans of the total amount of £4,285,792 were sanctioned
by the Local Government Board for purposes under the
Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, and of this
amount £2,160,506 was for Part I. schemes, £104,064 for
Part II., and £1,712,086 for Part III. ; £306,397 is recorded
in the reports of the Board as being for the paying off
of loans, and an additional £2,739 is recorded as being
for the purposes of the Housing Act of 1890 without dis-
tinguishing the Part of the Act those purposes fell under.
Of the £3,979,395 sanctioned for expenditure other than
loan repayment, £2,775,536 was authorised during the
five years 1900 — 04. The local authorities seeking borrow-
ing powers included 81 urban and 4 rural. The details

1. The italics are mine.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 171

are contained in Table XXVI., immediately following,
reference to which will indicate that the municipalities,
with a few exceptions, seemed to view the application of
the powers of Part I. with a considerable degree of distrust.
The powers granted in Part II. for the reconstruction of
small areas have certainly not been regarded any more
favourably or even as favourably. Part III. is evidently
more popular, especially in the years subsequent to 1899,
if one is to judge from the number of places making use
of it : this is true, however, only of urban districts, as,
apparently, rural districts feel unprepared to attempt any
application of the privileges granted to them under this
Part,1

1. It should be observed that, prior to the passing of the 1900
housing amendment Act, the procedure imposed upon the rural local
authority was a very complicated one.

172

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE
LOANS SANCTIONED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD FOR THE

Parts 1891 1892 1893 1894
£ £ £ £

1 Birmingham I. 14000

2 „ II. _

3 „ III.

4 Manchester I. 103375 150000

5 » II. 10220

6 „ HI.

7 Coventry I. 310 — — 508

8 „ II.

9 „ III.

10 Brighton I. 22800 42000

11 „ II.

12 „ HI.

13 Salford I. — 25000 31000

14 „ II.

15 „ III. 11550 2700

16 Bournemouth I. — 1100

17 „ II.

18 „ III.

19 Lancaster I. — 1200

20 „ II.

21 „ III.

22 Portsmouth I. — 4000

23 „ II.

24 „ III.

25 Plymouth I.

26 „ II.

27 » HI.

28 Stretford I.

29 „ II.

30 » HI.

31 Wigan I.

32 „ II.

33 „ HI. 2000

34 Leigh I.

35 „ II.

36 » HI- -

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 173

XXVI.

PURPOSES OF THE HOUSING OF THE WORKING CLASSES ACT, 1890.

1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904

£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £

6000 — 10100 — 1
2

— 6200 — 1350 — 3
— 22939 3000 — 4

11575 — 5

— 28415 — 35558 9790 11500 6
459 — 7

— 11791 — 12500 22770 10
jj^

— 13250 1441 — 17487 — 12

7000 — — 760 6180 — \ — "\ — — ^ — 13

I "1 " ~ 1 ~ ]

Paying I Paying Paying

I off Loans yoff Loans I off Loans

— — — — — — j 42074 66974 — 102567 14

— 2630 — 75644 J 72508 J 580 47737 J 9468 15

— 17

— 18

— 19

— 20

— 21

— 22

— 23

— 24
23400 — 54829 — 10215 — 1365 25

— 26

— 27
8200 — 28

— — — — — 25015 30

76598 _ 31

— 3141 33

— 10089 8861 2500 — 4189 — 34

~~ 35

174

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE XXVL—

Parts 1891 1892

1 Dudley I.

2 „ II.

3 „ III.

4 Sheffield I.

5 >, II.

6 » III.

7 Southampton I.

8 » II.

9 » III.

IQ Devonport I.

11 > II.

12 HI.

13 Sunderland I.

14 II-
IS M HI-

jg Birkenhead I.

17 » II-
lS „ III.

19 Leeds I.

20 » II.

21 » III.

22 Bath I.

23 „ II.

24 >. III.

25 Prescot I.

26 >. II.

27 HI-

23 Bradford (Yorkshire) I.

29 >» » II.

30 „ „ III.

31 Liverpool I.

32 ,, II.

33 „ III.

34 Darwen I.

35 » II.

36 » HI.

1893

1894

— — 10000

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 175

continued.

1895

1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902

1903 1904

£££££££

£ £

— 180

— —

_______

—

36512 — 76346

18350 -\
Paying
^off Loans

—

— j 20887

—

— 9146

26078 J 15800

—

— 14500 — 32000 505

12500

—

— — — — — — —

350

—

— 12298 9000

1614

—

8358 23551 11412 35963

— —

— — — — —

— —

— — — — —

— —

—

— — 26650

— —

—

— — — — — — —

— —

—

— — — — — — —

— —

—

— 7250

8892,. 15694

—

— — — — — — —

- -

Y Paying

off Loans

—

— 1827

1805 J 19237

— 150000

603803 156606

—

— — — — — —

10983

—

— — — — — — —

— —

—

— — 10012

— —

—

— — — — — — —

— —

—

— — — — — — —

— —

—

— 4400

6000 3970

—

— — — — — — —

— —

—

— — — — — — —

— —

I I I I I I I

7800 , 11233

28
29

_______

\ Paying
1 off Loans
— J 7800

—

_______

150000 28981

—

— — _ — — — —

— —

—

13000 — 26600 31400 96000 64000

1230

—

_______

— —

—

5115 12000 — 5377

— —

5500

2000 — — — — 420 —

— —

176

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE XXVI.—

Parts

1 Hereford I.

2 „ II.

3 „ III.

4 Tamworth I.

5 „ II.

6 „ III.

7 Poole I.

8 „ II.

9 „ III.

10 Eccles I.

11 „ II.

12 „ III.

13 Richmond (Surrey) I.

14 „ „ II.

15 „ „ III.

16 Newcastle-on-Tyne I.

17 „ „ II.

18 „ „ III.

19 Folkestone I.

20 „ II.

21 „ III.

22 Llandudno I.

23 „ II.

24 „ III.

25 Hornsey I.

26 „ II.

27 „ III.

28 Barnes I.

29 „ II.

30 „ III.

31 Bognor I.

32 „ II.

33 „ III.

34 West Ham I.

35 „ „ II.

36 III.

1891
£

1892
£

1893
£

1894
£

— — 17350 —

— — 5761

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 177

continued.

1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900

1901 1902 1903 1904

££££££

£ £ £ £

— — — —

3915

3918

— — — — — —

_____

4835

1175

__ _

— — — — — —

406

— — — — — —

— — — —

Paying

I off Loans

— — — — — —

— — — I 21827

______

— 21975 — f 2028

— — — — — —

______

— — — — — —

— — —

18892 — 1635

_ _ _ _

______

_ _ _ _

— — — — — —

— _ _ _

— — — — — —

— — _ _

______

_ _ _ _

— — — — — —

— — —

— 12500 — 4000 907

— _ _ _

______

1— _

Paying "l paying
off Loans off Loans

— — — — — —

1300 V 11447

— 4357 — 1926

— J —

______

— . — _ _

— — — — — —

— — —

— 31000

3767 — 44285 44285

— — — — — —

— — _ _

— — — — — —

— — — —

— 1600 16900

400

— — — — — _

— — _ _

— — — — — —

— — — —

200 450 —

— — — —

— — — — _ __

— — — —

— — — — — —

— — — _

— 11976 50387 169139

— 2697 —

I78

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE XXVI.—

Parts 1891

1 Leicester ........................ I.

2 „ ........................ II.

3 „ ........................ III.

4 Southgate ........................ I.

5 „ ........................ II.

6 „ ........................ III.

7 Tunbridge Wells .................. I.

8 „ „ .................. II.

9 ,, ,, .................. III.

10 Basingstoke ..................... I.

11 „ ..................... II.

12 „ ..................... III.

13 Baling ........................... I.

14 „ ........................... II.

15 „ ........................... III.

16 East Ham ........................ I.

17 „ „ ........................ II.

18 „ „ ........................ III.

19 Finchley ........................ I.

20 „ ........................ II.

21 „ ........................ III.

22 Aberystwith ..................... I.

23 „ ..................... II.

24 „ ..................... III.

25 Alnwick ........................ I.

26 „ ........................ II.

27 » ........................ HI.

28 Barking Town ..................... I.

29 » „ ..................... II.

30 n „ ... • ................. III.

31 Brentford ........................ I.

32 „ ........................ II.

33 ., ........................ HI.

34 Burton-upon- Trent .................. I.

35 » » .................. II-

36 » » .................. HI-

1892
£

1893
£

1894
£

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION

179

continued.

1895 1896

1897 1898

1899

1900 1901

1902 1903

1904

— 6525

— 3275

— — — 20000

— 3000

Paying
[off Loans
- 5243

— 5350 30566

4100

— 120640

— — 7045 —

— 1850

— 3300

— 1240

— 8880

— 20125

— 16000

Paying
off Loans

— T 3076

— 1100

— 13000

— 14500

— 6950 —

— — — — — 33000 — —

— 13400

1
3

5
6

10
11
12
13

17
lg

19
20
21
22

23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33

3/j
36

i8o

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE XXVI.—

2
3

4
5
6

7
8
9

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38

Edmonton I.

II.

III.

Heston and Isleworth I.

II.

III.

Hexham I.

II.

III.

Bhyl I.

,, II.

,, III.

Stafford I.

II.

III.

Tottenham I.

II.

III.

Wood Green I.

II.

„ III.

Erith I.

,, II.

„ III.

Esher and Dittons I.

„ II.

„ III.

Gosport and Alverstoke I.

II.

III.

Grays Thurrock I.

II.

III.

Hampton I.

II.

HI.

Hendon I.

II.

III.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 181

continued.

££££££££££

— 8630 582 3

— I 2739 5

— 2833 5100 — j 6

327 9

_________ 10

3000 12

_________ 13

_________ 14

— 1400 6500 — 15
_________ 16

_________ 17

_ _ — — 2273 _ _ _ _ 18

________ 19

_______ ___20

— — — — 3300 — — — — 21

— 14930 861 — 24
— — 25

— 26

— 2250 — 27

— 3326 — 30

— — 32

— 6400 — 33

— 34

— 35

— 1160 — 14685 — 36

— 37

— 38

— 1255 — — 39

182 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE XX VI.—

Parts 1891 1892 1893 1894

1 Merthyr Tydfil I.

2 „ „ II.

„ III.

4 Southend-on-Sea I.

5 „ „ II. _ _

6 „ „ HI.

7 Wellington I. __

8 » II. — —

9 „ III. -

10 Bangor I.

„ ........................ in.

13 Brentwood ................... I

14 „ ...................... .; IL

15 „ ........................ m.

16 Bristol ................ I

18 „ ........................... HI.

19 East Grinstead ..................... I

20 „ „ ..................... IL

21 „ „ ..................... HI.

22 Farnham ........................ I.

23 „ .................. . ..... II.

24 „ ........................ HI.

25 Swansea ........................ I.

26 „ ........................ II.

27 „ ........................ III.

28 Whitley Upper ..................... I.

29 ,, „ ..................... II.

30 „ n ..................... III.

31 Wolverhampton .................. I.

32 „ .................. II.

33 „ .................. III.

34 Workington ..................... I.

35 „ ..................... II.

36 „ ..................... III.

37 Wrotham ........................ I.

38 „ ........................ II.

39 „ ...... III.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 183

continued.

1895 1896 1897 2899 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904
££££££££££

__________2

— 15000 — 2047 3

— — — — — — — — — Paying 5

V off Loans
1476

— 16250 — J 6

— 4200 9

— 11

— 7445 10065 — 12

13
14.

— 6000 15

— 16

— 17

— 9157 — 1000 18

— 19

— 20

— 5800 227 — 21

— — 22

— — 23

— 3668 — 24

— — — — 25

— 26
860 178 27

— — — — — — — — 28

— 29

— 1240 — 30

— 31

— 32

— — 5618 - 33

— 34

— 35
- 3315 - - 36

— 3058 — 39

184

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE XXVI,

Parts 1891 1892 1893 li

£ £ £ £

1 Abercorn I.

2 „ II. —

3 „ III.

4 Chester I. _ _

5 „ II. — —

6 „ III.

7 Lichfield I. _ _

8 „ II. -

9 „ III.

10 Stanley I. — _

11 ,, II. - -

12 „ III.

13 Croydon I. _

14 „ II. — —

15 „ in.

16 Guildford I. — —

17 „ II. _

18 M III.

19 Neath I.

20 „ II.

21 M III.

22 Thingoe, West Suffolk (Rural District) ... I.

23 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ... II. — —

24 „ „ „ „ „ ... III. — 1700

25 Sevenoaks, Kent (Rural District) I.

26 „ „ „ „ II.

27 „ „ „ „ III.

28 Maldon, Essex (Rural District) I.

29 „ „ „ „ II.

30 „ „ „ „ III.

31 Westbury and Whorwellsdown, Wilts. I.

32 (Rural District) II.

UO 5) )) }j >. i-Ll.

34 Total : Part 1 117685 197800 74100 57(

35 >} Part H 10000 10220

36 „ Part III 13250 19350 8461

37 „ Unclassified

38 Grand Total 117685 211050 103450 24389

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 185

continued.

1895
£

121198
11575

33773

1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903
££££££££

— 6850
— 2160
4750
— 6000

1800 — 1850
— 1250

— 1000

10548 100382 40699 54288 161153 161412 55069 819845
5115 12000 8942 10876 21975 10983
34487 32800 71041 255152 432210 249507 189052 199078
— 47317 66974 1300
50150 145182 111740 309440 602305 421795 266096 1029906

1904
£

26850
1700
7000

200

240619
2378
207698
193545
453434

1
2
3
4

7
8
9

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33

34
35
36
37
38

Loan Repayment. Loan Repayment.
47317 66974 1300 190806

186 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

In introducing the tables just preceding, it was remarked
that the loan statistics of the Local Government Board
reports did not fully represent the work done under Part
II. of the 1890 Act. Fortunately, since 1899, those reports
have included, each year, a summary statement of action,
taken under Part II., by the various provincial author-
ities. The following table contains the figures for the
years 1899 — 1904. Its figures indicate a vague amount of
forward movement in the use of the important powers of
Part II. bearing upon individual houses, but, in view of
the known conditions, the work being done is ludicrously
small. Of course, action may be taken under the Public
Health Acts, but the total number of cases thus handled
would probably not increase very materially the figures
recorded in the table.

TABLE XXVII.

PROCEEDINGS OUTSIDE LONDON TAKEN (UNDER SECT. 44,
PART II.) IN REGARD TO BUILDINGS UNFIT FOR HUMAN
HABITATION DURING THE YEARS SPECIFIED, AND THE
NUMBER OF CASES IN WHICH SUCH PROCEEDINGS WERE
TAKEN.

[Does not include action, similar in effect, taken in a few
cases under local Acts.]

1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904
Number of houses^ Borough Coun-

as to which re- cils 1,610 2,015 2,296 1,763 1,660 2,076

presentations were I Urban District

made during the Councils ... 912 994 1,167 1,291 994 1,405

year I Rural District

J Councils ... 1,109 1,469 2,252 1,645 1,597 2,227

3,631 4,478* 5,715* 4,699* 4,251* 5,708'

* Including 1900—37, 1901—83, 1902—14, 1903—69, 1904—159, dwelling
houses in respect of which complaints were made by householders during
the year.

UTILISATION

LEGISLATION

187

1899

1900

1901

1902

1903

1904

Number of houses^ Borough Coun-
in respect of which cils...
proceedings were Urban District
taken by the Local * Councils ...

1,480
923

2.1821
985

1,759
1,279

1,648
978

2,060
1,393

Authorities during Rural District
the year for clos- 1 Councils ...

1,109

1,466

1,636

1,590

2,189

ing houses

3,540

4,633

—

4,674

4,216

5,642

Number of houses^ Borough Coun-
made n't for human cils

677

1,086

1,340

990

582

757

habitation during [Urban District

the year without j Councils ...

410

645

729

602

513

818

a closing order Rural District

being obtained J Councils . . .

848

1,130

1,738

1,318

1,135

1,783

1,935

2,861

3,807

2,910

2,330

3,358

Number of houses> Borough Coun-
in respect of which 1 cils ...
closing orders were 1 Urban District

149

316

308

392

380

297

made by the Jus- f Councils ...

195

206

176

129

107

tices during the Rural District

year J Couucils ...

170

145

126

108

514

667

610

568

617

474

Number of houses^ Borough Coun-

in which the Local cils ...

131

Authorities during 1 Urban District

the year ordered j Councils

the demolition of Rural District

the building ' Councils ...

214t

68t

115t

92t

81t

52t

1. Apparently this figure is too large ; should not be greater than
2,015.

2. Figures omitted from Local Government Board report.

tin 1899—292, 1900—720, 1901—489, 1902—856, 1903—791, 1904—1139,
other cases, the dwelling house was closed or demolished voluntarily by
the owner, without a closing order or an order for demolition being
made.

188 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

The number of local authorities, out of the total 1800,
making the representations recorded in the above table,
was in each respective year as follows :

1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904

Borough Councils ... TO 94 92 100 95 98

Urban District Councils 102 135 138 132 125 126

Rural District Councils 163 192 200 130 192 195

Total 335 421 430 362 412 419

Per Cent.
Percentage of the total

number of local auth-
orities 19 23 24 20 23 23

In the case of nearly all the above authorities, little
inclination was shown to use their powers against obstruc-
tive buildings; for instance, only eight local authorities
reported such action in the administrative year 1901-2,
five in 1902-3, and five in 1903-4.

As regards the corresponding work in the London area,
the Local Government Board reports, 1900-01 to 1904-5,
state that, in the years ending March 31st, 1900 to 1904,
action was taken in the case of 133, 112, 48, 90, and 74
dwellings respectively,1 a poorer showing than even the
poor record of the rest of the country. The comparative
inactivity of the local authorities in this important duty
is unsatisfactory and discouraging.

The part played by private housing trusts and companies
in the metropolis has been seen to be an important one in
the past, but there has been no marked extension of their
effort to urban centres other than London, though a certain
amount of building has been done by such as the Man-

1. Local Government Board reports, 1900-01, p. cxxxix. ; 1901-02,
p. cxl. j 1902-03, p. clvi. ; 1903-04, p. cli. ; 1904-05, p. clxiv.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 189

Chester Labourers Dwellings Company and the Leeds In-
dustrial Dwellings Company.

Far more important in the country at large has been
the work of the co-operative societies. It is stated that,
in Darwen for instance, at least one fifth of the houses are
owned by members of the local co-operative society who
have purchased or obtained their houses through its help.
The latest returns I have been able to secure show that, up
to and including 1902, 302 cooperative societies of England
and Wales had invested £7,702,184 in providing for 35,147
houses, the chief area of activity being the north-western
counties where 4,713 houses had been built and were owned
by the societies as landlords, 3,240 houses built by the
societies and sold to members, 14,532 houses built by mem-
bers upon money loaned by the societies, at a total cost of
£4,935,500. Undoubtedly, these figures will have been
considerably increased by the present time. For the bene-
fit of those interested in co-operative housing possibilities,
the full statistical summary, from which the above figures
have been quoted, is herewith appended.

The work of Mr. W. H. Lever and of Mr. George Cad-
bury in housing their workmen in model villages and the
experiment of a Garden City now under way will be briefly
noticed in a subsequent chapter.1

1. For detailed items as to the housing work done by the London
County Council, the metropolitan borough councils, and the provincial
local authorities, the reader is referred to the annual issues of the
Municipal Year Book, to W. Thompson's The Housing Handbook, to
Dr. J. F. J. Sykes's essay in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society
for June, 1901, entitled The Results of State, Municipal and Organized
Prirate Action on the Housing of the Housing Classes in London and
in other large Cities in the United Kingdom, and to Mr. Stewart's
The Housing Question in London (Report of Housing Committee of
London County Council).

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE

SUMMARY OF HOUSEBUILDING BY THE CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES

Houses built and owned by Society
as Landlord.

Houses built by Society
and Sold to Members.

Scottish

Southern

South-W€

Western

Ireland

3ction. Societies.

Houses.

Total
Amount.

No. of
Houses
Sold.

Total
Value.

51 ...

615 ...

£
139159

375

£
111255

1017

244277

939

210496

stern 150 ...
41 ...

4713 ...
1436 ...

881058
277670

... 3240 ...
148 . .

695939
31765

255

78326

243 ...

65585

stern 11 ...
7 ...

87 ...
124 ...

14670
23650

51 ...
84 ...

9496
16731

Total... , 344 . , 8247 ,. 1658810

5080 ,,. 1141267

1. Taken from the Report of the 35th Annual

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION

191

XXVIII.

OF THE UNITED KINGDOM UP TO AND INCLUDING 1902.1

Houses built by Society and
Sold to Members.

Amount
Amount Paid remaining

Money Lent by Society to Members to build
Houses for themselves.

Amount No. of Houses
remaining on which

on account
of Houses.

due to Society
on Mortgage.

Total
Amount.

Amount
Paid.

due to Society me
on Mortgage.

>ney has
advance

44165

... 66541 ...

625199

... 329940

... 323740 ...

2984

.. 114126

... 97196 ...

643589

... 256561

... 395056 ...

3141

.. 481455

... 241515 ...

3358503

... 2072374

... 1384391 ...

14532

.. 22332

9433 ...

109223

... 57222

... 52007 ...

505

.. 34620

... 29617 ...

389266

... 176467

... 214641 ...

1610

3688

5808 ...

12716

4826

7846 ...

... 14580

— ...

182269

... 115983

... 66307 ...

1052

6313

1214

5099 .

, 714966 . . 450110 ... 5327078 ... 3014587 ... 2449087 , , 23940

Co-operative Congress, 1903, p. 158.

192 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

On an earlier page, reference was made to an Act passed
in 1899 — the Small Dwellings Acquisition Act — which
was intended to assist working men. to acquire the owner-
ship of their own homes. Town councils and urban district
councils were permitted by the Act to borrow money for
this purpose from the Loan Commissioners under the sanc-
tion of the Local Government Board. In Table XXIX.,
a list of loans thus approved is given in detail.

TABLE XXIX.

LOANS SANCTIONED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD TO URBAN
AUTHORITIES UNDER THE SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT, 1899.1

1900-4.

Year ending December 31st.
1900 1901 1902 1903 1904
£ £ £ £ £

Birkenhead (C.B.) 180 770 612 916 798

Erith (U.D. Kent) 600 200

Gillingham (U.D. Kent) ... 1050 2988 1816 4905 1880

Amble (U.D. Northumberland) 280 250

Bedwellty (U.D. Monmouth) 750

Cheriton (U.D. Kent) 1585 200 1330 197

Ilford (U.D. Essex) 12720 14000 3000 5000

Waterloo with Seaforth (U.D. Lancaster) ... 300 440 190

Worcester (C.B.) 200 240 360

Barking Town (U.D. Essex) 3000

Walthamstow (U.D. Essex) 3350 830

West Ham (C.B.) 658 384

Abersychan (U.D. Monmouth) — 945

Cheshunt (U.D. Hertford) 560 600

Tonbridge (U.D. Kent) 400 400

Bristol (C.B.) — 2363

Enfield (U.D. Middlesex) 1101

Liverpool (C.B.)

Southall Norwood (U.D. Middlesex)

The Maidens and Coombe (U.D. Surrey) ... — 240

Pontardawe (R.D. Glamorgan) 160

Total 1830 19593 24516 12440 15360

1. Local Government Board reports — Appendix M : 1900-01 to 1904-05.

UTILISATION OF LEGISLATION 193

The Act deserves increasing use to be made of it, and the
activity of places like Ilford and Gillingham is not un-
likely to find; much imitation. A comparatively short
while after the Act came into force, a ' Small Dwellings
Acquisition Company ' was formed with the object of carry-
ing on the building and sale of dwellings under the faci-
lities granted by the Act, the Company advancing to per-
sons wishing to purchase houses, erected or to be erected
by the former, the necessary one-fifth of the value, thus
enabling the remaining four-fifths to be borrowed, from
the local authority.

However, the advantages of the Small Dwellings Acquisi-
tion Act are such as apply to but a small proportion of
the working class population, among whom the serious
evils of overcrowding, at any rate, are not frequent. The
privileges granted by the measure naturally appeal to
moderately well-to-do artizans of settled position and
settled habits. I fail to see much prospect of the Act
operating to any extent within the city limits of our large
towns; its most successful field will probably lie in the
rural and smaller urban districts and, possibly, in the sub-
urban environments of the large centres.

195

CHAPTER VIII.

THE EXTENT OF THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE GRANTED BY
THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES
AND OTHERS IN CONNECTION WITH THE HOUSING OF
THE WORKING CLASSES IN ENGLAND.

The tables contained in this chapter supplement the
information already given in the previous one, and are
especially useful in that they enable one to realise more
vividly the part played by the central government in
fostering the utilisation of its own legislation.

The following table is based upon the annual reports of
the Public Works Loan Commissioners from 1879 onwards,
and shows the amounts of money borrowed for building
working class houses, up to 1891, under the Labouring
Classes Dwellings Act of 1866 and the Public Works Loans
Act of 1879, and, from 1891 to 1905, the amounts borrowed,
on property,1 under the Housing of the Working Classes
Act of 1890. Loans made in the financial year ending
March 31st, 1891, would be made, of course, under the
former Acts. Though, under the 1851 and 1866 Acts,
local authorities were empowered to borrow from the
Commissioners for the purposes of the Acts, the table
makes it clear that, from 1879 till the consolidation of the
law in the 1890 Act, the privilege was never used. Loans
made after March 31st, 1891, to private organisations were
granted under Part III. of the Housing Act. Local
authorities now began to borrow on all parts of the Act,
but the Commissioner's reports do not distinguish advances
upon the security of rates according to the Part of the Act

1. As a matter of fact, all of the loans shown in the table were property
secured. ,

196 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

under which they were made. Accordingly, such loans are
included in the table next following, to which reference
will be made shortly. The table at present being con-
sidered (No. XXX.) has been arranged in three sections,
the advances to trusts and other philanthropic associations
being placed in the first section, those to housing com-
panies in the second, and those to private persons and
firms, also to a number of Welsh building societies and
clubs, in the third. Under the first head, the Hayle's
Charity Estate Trustees were the only regular borrowers
during the seventeen years ending 1904 ; during 1902, the
Guinness Trust (London) borrowed £20,000. In the second
section, attention is attracted by the activity of the
Improved Industrial Dwellings Company prior to 1895
and of the East End Dwellings Company since 1891. One
prominent feature of housing during the past generation
is indicated to some extent in the third division — the work
of building clubs and societies, but it is a somewhat
remarkable fact that none of the numerous building clubs
outside of South Wales seem to have had financial relations
with the Loan Commissioners. The part to be played by
such organisations, in the future, in providing accommoda-
tion for the artizan class, may be of considerable import-
ance, and hence the writer may be pardoned in extracting
from the 1898-99 Report of the Commissioners an
interesting description of the methods adopted by them.
"With reference to the loans made to building clubs,"
runs the report, "and to previous loans made and
applications now pending from similar clubs, all in South
Wales, it would appear that working men have found a
method of either acquiring their own dwellings or of
investing their savings in that class of property. The
constitution of these clubs is practically the same, and
may be briefly described. The club is constituted by a

FINANCIAL AID BY GOVERNMENT 197

deed of settlement which shows that a piece of vacant land
(freehold or long leasehold) is about to be acquired, and is
intended to be divided into building plots, the number
of shares in the club being equal to the number of the
building plots. The deed names the trustees in whom
the property is to be vested, and the members of the club
who have taken the shares equal to the number of houses
to be built (generally one shareholder for each house) as
parties to the deed, and under the regulations which are
contained in the deed there is a committee of management
appointed with other officers usually selected from the
members. The working expenses are thus reduced to a
small sum. By the deed and from its date the shareholders
agree to pay £1 per lunar month to the trustees until the
whole of the expenses incurred in building the houses have
been repaid. As soon as the plans for building have been
approved, the particular house intended to represent each
share is settled by lot. When a house is completed, it
is let (not necessarily to a shareholder), but the rent of
the house is paid to the trustees, and equally with the
monthly subscriptions forms the fund out of which the
whole of the expenditure is repaid, when each shareholder
becomes entitled to his house.

The trustees are empowered by the deed to borrow
money, and appear to have no difficulty in doing so, as
probably the sum raised by the subscriptions towards the
building affords a sufficient margin of security. This
Board lend a moiety of the cost of building at 3^ per
cent, interest, the loan being taken up as soon as the
buildings are completed, and the borrowers select a short
period for repayment, generally from 5 to 12 years, the
instalments of principal being repaid to this Board out
of the subscriptions to the club and the rents. So far the
instalments of repayment have been punctually repaid.
No member of the club is entitled to sell his share without
first offering it for sale to the other members."

I98 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

TABLE

ADVANCES BY THE PUBLIC WORKS LOAN COMMISSIONERS

Section A. — To Trusts and

1868—

1878 79 '80 '81 '82 '83 '84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89
£ £ £ £ £ £££££££
Metropolitan Associa-
tion for Improving
the Dwellings of the

Industrial Classes... 47000 — — 6000 - 5500 1000 —

Peabody Trustees ... — — — 65000 100000 100000 35000 — — —
St. Giles' and St.
Luke's Joint Par-
ochial Charities
Estates Trustees ... — — — — — — — 40000

Hayle's Charity

Estate (Lambeth)

Trustees _____ — 9000 3000

Guinness Trust (Lon-
don) — — — —

Well's Campden's
Charity Trustees
(Hampstead) _____ ______ 5000

FINANCIAL AID BY GOVERNMENT 199

XXX.

UNDER THE LABOURING CLASSES DWELLINGS ACTS.

Philanthropic Associations.

'90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 1900 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05
££££££££££££££££

— 8000 3000 — — 650 7000 2000 4650 — — 6320 5000 6375 895 —

— — — — — — — — — — — — 20000 — — —

200

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Section B. — To Workmen's

'83
£

'84
£

'85
£

'86
£

1868—

1878 79 '80 '81 '82
£ £ £ £ £

Improved Industrial
Dwellings Company. 138000 40000 45000 48000 35000 10000 11000 3200 49000

Highgate Dwellings
Improvement Com-
pany 2500 - 2000

Victoria Dwellings
Company 16000 3000 18000

Newcastle - on - Tyne
Improved Industrial
Dwellings Company 1700

Liverpool Labourers'
Dwellings Company 6000

London Labourers'
Dwellings Company

National Dwellings
Society, Ld - 14000

City of Rochester In-
dustrial Dwellings
Company

Tenants Co-operators'
Society

East End Dwell-
ings Company

'87 '88 '89
£££

— 20000 16000

- 6000

— 6921 — — 2000

_ 8500 — — — — —

— — — — — ___ 2500 — 1700 —

Section C. — To Private Persons

1868—
1878 79
£ £
Private Persons and

Private Firms 10900 —

Building Clubs and
other Building Socie-
ties (all in South
Wales) — —

'80
£

'81
£

'82
£

'83
£

'84
£

'85
£

'86
£

'87
£

'88
£

'89
£

— — — — — — 5500 4250 43000 66210

— 4500 2400 5500 9000

— — 7000

FINANCIAL AID BY GOVERNMENT

201

Dwellings Companies.

'90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 1900 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05
££££££££££££££££

— 20000 — — 20000

3000 1750 — 1500 ____ _ ________

— 13000 3000 13300 19700 8500 9000 2825 27000 — 18000 12750 26400 12000 12000 16500

and Building Societies.

'90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 1900 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05
££££££££££££££££

— — 3000 5000 7965 2800 2700 — — 5950 — 4000 — — 2250

_ _ 3000 — — 6000 4400 14175 4600 7500 4500 4200 1700 — 3290 17740

202 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

From the passing of the Cross Act in 1875, the Public
Works Loan Commissioners were empowered to advance
monies under the Act, but the more rigid terms imposed
upon loans by the Treasury Minute of August, 1879, put
an early stop to such advances to local authorities, inas-
much as the larger towns — the chief places where the Act
could be applied — were able to borrow on as favourable
terms in another way. Thus, after 1880, with the ex-
ception of a further sum of ,£200,000 to Birmingham,
absolutely no advances were made under the Act, and
though, under the circumstances, the absence of official
advances would not necessarily be a proof of inaction, yet,
as a matter of fact, there was a practical stagnation of
effort except in the case of the Metropolitan Board of
Works. This body, it may be added, never found occasion
to apply to the Commisioners for financial help : all the
funds they required they could raise upon their own credit
as cheaply as the government could afford to lend. The
Local Government Board did, indeed, sanction in 1885 a
loan of £160,000 to Nottingham, and in 1887 one of
£100,000 to Birmingham (with an additional £4,000 in
1890) for the purposes of the Cross Acts, but no applica-
tion was made to the Loan Commissioners in connection
therewith. Even the action of the 1885 Act in lowering
minimum rate of interest to 3^ per cent, thus modifying
considerably the stringency of the Treasury Minute to
which we have referred, did not stimulate the provincial
authorities. No doubt, the expense to which the Metro-
politan Board of Works was put by its execution of schemes
under the 1875 Act, the heavy loss incurred by the ex-
periments of Birmingham and Wolverhampton made other
authorities more than chary. However, after 1890, signs
of activity were fairly frequent, though until 1900 there
was a tendency to fight shy of the Commissioners, only

FINANCIAL AID BY GOVERNMENT 203

two advances being made; one to the Thingoe Rural Dis-
trict Council, the other to the Hornsey Urban District
Council : in 1900, a further advance was made to Hornsey
and one to Salford. Subsequent to 1900, there was much
freer recourse to the public funds, as shown in the table.
It must be borne in mind that, whereas the earlier loans
from 1870 — 1883 were made under the Cross Act, or what
is now Part I. of the Act of 1890, the later ones may be
under either Parts I., II., or III.

'85 '86
£ £

'87 '88
£ £

2°4 TABLE

ADVANCES BY THE PUBLIC WORKS LOAN COMMISSIONERS UNDER THE CROSS ACTS

R = Rural Authority.

1878 '79 '80 '81 '82 '83 '84
£££££££

Birmingham (U) 850000 150000 130000 - 100000 100000 —

Liverpool (U) 50000

Swansea (U) - 28433 86546 —

Walsall (U) — 10000 _ _

Wolverhampton (U) 25000 50000 25000 —

Norwich (U) 10000 —

Salford (U)

Folkestone (U) —

West Ham (U)

Baling (U)

Hornsey (U) — —

Barking Town (U)

Barnes (U)

Brentford (U)

Heston and Isleworth ... (U)

Rhyl (U)

Tottenham (U)

Wood Green (U)

East Ham (U)

Erith (U)

Brentwood... (U)

East Grinstead (U)

Llandudno (U)

Esher and the Dittons ... (U)

Grays Thurrock (U)

Hampton (U)

Hendon (U)

Hexham (U)

Wellington (Salop) (U)

Thingoe (R)

Southgate (R)

Sevenoaks (R)

Merthyr Tydfil (U)

Prescot (U)

Whitley, Upper (Yorks.) (U)

Wrotham (U)

Southend-on-Sea (U)

Maldon (R)

Westbury and

Whorwellsdown (R)

Farnham (U)

Stanley (Durham) (U)

Edmonton (U)

Totals 925000 238433 251546 - 100000 100000

N.B. — All the above loans were rate secured.

XXXI. 205

AND, AFTER 1900, UNDER THE HOUSING OF THE WORKING CLASSES ACT, 1890.

U = Urban Authority (including Boroughs and Urban District Councils).

'89 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 1900 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05

££££££££££££ £ £ £££

— 6180 —

— 4907

— — 60000

— — — 37000

— 49000 — —

— 39909
- 19500 3500 16700

— 6000 14105

— — — 10800 — 6500 —
— — 4000 2950

— 2833 5100 — 2739

— 1500 1500

— — — — — — — — — — — — 8500

. 3300

— 20000

— 10810 4981 — —

— 2000 4000

— 4250 227

— 6694 — —

— 2250

— 6400

— 1160 — 14685 —

— 1255

— 327

— 2200 2000 — —
— — 1700 —

— — — — — — — — — 3275 1850 — —

— 1800

— 5000 10000 — —

— 6000 4400 — —

_ 1240 — —
_ 3058 — —

— 10000 — —

— — __ — _______— _ _ __ 1450

— — — — — 1700 — — —

— — — — —— 1000

— — 2068

— 1600 6000

— 582 —
19500 12955 118540 115666 104573 27594 50257

206 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

The detailed tables now presented may be profitably
supplemented by a more general statement (Table XXXII.)
from which it will be found that, under the various hous-
ing Acts operating in England and Wales, the central
government had advanced, up to March 31st, 1905, a grand
total of nearly three and a quarter millions sterling, over
two-fifths of which had been lent to private undertakings
as distinct from local authorities. From present prospects,
the figures in the first of the two columns below (Loans on
Local Rates) seem likely to increase at an appreciably
faster rate than those in the second, as is indicated by the
following comparison for the years 1902-05.

Loans on Local Rates. Loans on Property.

Advances up to and including

March 31st, 1902 1,877,340 1,564,006

Advances made 1903 104,573 18,375

Advances made 1904 38,594 16,185

Advances made 1905 50,257 36,490

TABLE XXXII.

SUMMARY STATEMENT or ADVANCES MADE BY THE PUBLIC
WORKS LOAN COMMISSIONERS, 1867 — 1905, UNDER THE
HOUSING ACTS AND UNDER THE SMALL DWELLINGS AC-
QUISITION ACT — ENGLAND AND WALES.

Loans under Small

Dwellings

Loans under Housing Acts. Acquisition Act.
On Local Rates. On Property. On Local Rates.

£ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d.

Advances —

In the year 1904-05.. 50,257 0 0 36,490 0 0 10,708 0 0
Total to 31st March,

1905 2,070,764 0 0 1,564,006 0 0 61,968 0 0

Repayments and

Interest —
In the year 1904-05,

Principal ... 12,650 8 1 40,184 10 2 4,970 10 1

Interest ... 13,256 12 6 16,897 3 4 1,523 8 10

Total to 31st March,
1905,

Principal ... 1,649,401 19 4 1,081,421 11 10 11,794 10 3

Interest ... 315,599 11 3 657,482 6 10 3,909 9 1

Balances outstanding
against borrowers
31 March, 1905—
Arrears ^
Not yet > Principal

due j 421,362 0 8 479,483 3 2 50,173 9 9

On loans outstanding
as assets of the
Local Loans Fund,

Interest —

FINANCIAL AID BY GOVERNMENT 207

The Loan Commissioners were also authorised to lend
money to local authorities desiring to utilize the privileges
of the Small Dwellings Acquisition Act, and, for con-
venience' sate, the preceding table includes a statement
of advances made to them under this Act, a total of £61,968
to March 31st, 1905 ; not a large amount, but sufficient to
show that practical experiment is being made of its possi-
bilities.

In conclusion, it is evident from the tables submitted
that the financial part played by the central government
has not been a very large one, there has not been an over-
whelming eagerness to advantage by governmental loans.
The conditions attaching to the loans account for this to
no small degree, and, as these conditions are lightened,
no doubt increased use will be made of the facilities offered ;
in fact, this is already indicated by the loan operations of
the last two or three years.

PART III.

HOUSING POLICY IN ENGLAND.

211

CHAPTER IX.
HOUSING REFORM AND THE DOCTRINE OF LAISSEZ-FAIRE.

The diagnosis of a disease is one thing, its cure another,
and so of housing evils their identification is simple, the
tracing of their origin comparatively easy, but their
amelioration remains a matter of singular perplexity. It
has been said that the housing problem touches every other
social question, and the statement, if not mathematically
precise, at least serves the purpose of indicating some
explanation of the difficulty experienced by reformers and
administrators in their struggle to bring about better
conditions of housing among the poorer classes.

In view of the fact that housing evils are of long
standing, and that it is more than half a century since a
remedial policy was first attempted in England, out of
which has developed an imposing code of enactments, some
analysis and criticism of the policy formally adopted by
the nation is entirely desirable in a volume like the present
one.

In Part II. of this work consideration was given to the
succession of statutes by which a national housing policy
has been outlined. From that legislation, it appears that
the State has marked out four lines of action in the reform
of house property — (1) improvement, (2) demolition without
reconstruction, (3) demolition with reconstruction, and (4)
construction. The responsibility of enforcing reform
along the first three lines has been laid directly upon local
government, whereas both local government and individual
enterprise are invited to participate in the fourth. It will
have been further observed that, in the case of the former,

212 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

action is intended to be compulsory, and to this end the
close supervision of the work of local government by the
central government is provided for ; in the case of the latter,
its operation has been left optional. A connection has
been established between the third and fourth by enabling
the powers of construction to be applied to the purposes
of reconstruction. To examine our information in a some-
what different way, improvement (whether structural or
otherwise) is to be enforced upon the owner at his expense ;
demolition without reconstruction may be either at the
owner's expense, as in the case of unhealthy dwellings, or
at the expense of the local government, as in the case
of obstructive buildings — but, in the latter instance, the
principle of betterment may be called into play, under
certain conditions, to saddle the owner with a portion of
the expense; demolition with reconstruction is to be
carried out at the expense of the local government, which
has the power, however, of placing some uncertain portion
of it upon " bettered " property where the areas demolished
are small, also of freeing itself from the expense of
reconstruction by arranging with private persons or
organisations to fulfil its obligations; and, finally,
construction may be undertaken at its own expense, or left
to private enterprise. To interpret in a general way the
spirit of present legislation, the last-named function is a
moral duty, where private enterprise is inadequate to
supply necessary housing accommodation, the others are
legal duties which the local government may be forced to
fulfil. A very important part in housing reform has thus
been assigned to local government, and the question arises
as to how far this may be considered appropriate, justifi-
able, and necessary.

The determination of the proper limits of State action
has exercised the minds of many eminent thinkers, giving

REFORM AND LAISSEZ-FAIRE 213

rise to two antagonistic schools of thought and, incidentally,
to much literature. The extreme positions are represented,
on the one side, by those who believe in the most rigid and
limited interpretation of the principle of laissez-faire, and,
on the other side, by the socialistic school. The doctrinnaire
followers of laissez-faire argue that, under almost every
condition, the interest of the individual is coincident with
the interest of the community, conducing to the highest
welfare of both. Therefore, the interference of the State
in restriction of the action of individuals is unnecessary
and undesirable, hindering the natural harmonizing of the
interests concerned. The socialistic school take exactly
the opposite position, viewing the interest of the individual
as being generally opposed' to the interest of the com-
munity, and consequently necessitating the interference
of the State in order that a harmony of interests may be
produced. As already stated, both of these conceptions,
though each containing an element of truth, are extreme,
and, as this has become recognized, there has arisen a
disposition on the part of many of the believers in laissez-
faire to modify their interpretation of its doctrine. That
there are certain obligatory functions resting upon the
state has never been disputed. Adam Smith concisely
laid down the nature of these in his famous section upon
the functions of government, specifying the maintenance
of public defence and the administration of justice, and
even going so far as to include the carrying on of public
works which it would not be to the particular advantage
of any individual or small body of individuals to undertake
and yet would be beneficent to the society. J. S. Mill
further enlarged upon this by arguing that the intervention
of the state was desirable whenever the proposed action
was useful or necessary and not likely to be effected by
voluntary agency, or when it was of such a nature that

214 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

the consumer could not be considered capable of judging
its quality. Herbert Spencer, however, in his Social Statics,
placed himself in direct opposition to this widening appli-
cation of the doctrine of laissez-faire, for both Smith and
Mill were believers in the general validity of that prin-
ciple, and, to quote the words of a careful writer, held it
to be " the essential duty of Government to protect — to
maintain men's rights to life, to personal liberty, and to
property; and the theory that the Government ought to
undertake other offices than that of protection he regards
as an untenable theory. Each man has a right to the
fullest exercise of all his faculties compatible with the
same right in others. This is the fundamental law of
equal freedom, which it is the duty and the only duty of
the State to enforce." l Spencer's protest failed to accom-
plish much : indeed, of late years, there has been in evi-
dence a movement on the part of many of the leading local
authorities tending to carry them, beyond Mill's limita-
tions into a semi-socialistic regime, and popular opinion
actively fosters and supports this tendency. I am not of
those who are prepared to condemn any proposal that may
have received the name of socialism : with Marshall, I
believe that the future may reveal higher forms of collec-
tivism, the effective operation of which should conduce to
the marked amelioration of the conditions of social life.
But I certainly deprecate the ill-considered zeal with which
so many of our local authorities are throwing themselves
into schemes of social and economic reform, with hardly
a thought of the relationship of the consequences of their
action to the ultimate well-being of the community. The
socialist propaganda in so far as it has called attention to
the impracticable rigidity of the tenets of the extreme

1. Article on Government, by Professor E. Robertson, Encyclopaedia
Britannica, ninth edition.

REFORM AND LAISSEZ-FAIRE 215

Manchester school has not been without value, but the
acknowledgement of its beneficial influence in this direc-
tion is very far from justifying a general recognition and
application of its teachings. Cairnes' analysis is still worth
recalling, " Human beings know and follow their interests
according to their lights and dispositions ; but not necess-
arily, nor in practice always, in that sense in which the
interest of the individual is coincident with that of others
and of the whole. It follows that there is no security that
the economic phenomena of society, as at present con-
stituted, will arrange themselves spontaneously in the way
which is most for the common good. In other words
laissez-faire falls to the ground as a scientific doctrine. I
say as a scientific doctrine; for let us be careful not to
overstep the limits of our argument. It is one thing to
repudiate the scientific authority of laissez-faire, freedom
of contract, and so forth; it is a totally different thing to
set up the opposite principle of State control, the doctrine
of paternal government. For my part, I accept neither
one doctrine nor the other ; and, as a practical rule, I hold
laissez-faire to be incomparably the safer guide, only let
us remember that it is a practical rule, and. not a doctrine
of science ; a rule in the main sound, but like most other
sound practical rules, liable to numerous exceptions ; above
all, a rule which must never, for a moment, be allowed
to stand in the way of the candid consideration of any
promising proposal of social or industrial reform." l

To state the position concisely, from the point of view
of the writer, there are two principles by which all state
(including municipal) interference must be tested, and
judged — necessity and efficiency. In other words, state or
municipal action should be necessary to the general welfare

1. See his essay on "Political Economy and Laissez Faire " in the
Essays in Political Economy Theoretical and Applied.

216 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

of the community and such as can be carried on with more
efficiency and with greater advantage to the community
than by any individual or body of individuals. The pro-
priety of any existing or proposed state function is not
determinable, therefore, by a 'priori reasoning, but requires
an investigation of the environing facts and probabilities.
In applying this rule to ascertaining the proper function
of local government in housing reform, the latter must be
separated out into its two component parts of (1) the sup-
pression of unhealthy sanitary conditions, which may in-
volve the demolition of property, and (2) the provision of
dwelling houses : to the consideration of the former point
the next two chapters will now be devoted.

217

CHAPTER X.

THE PRIMARY PROCESS OF HOUSING REFORM AND THE
RELATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY THERETO.

The importance of sanitary supervision and reform can-
not be overestimated. Unhealthy conditions in one part
of a community may spread devastating disease over the
whole. Their existence is a constant menace to public
welfare, and the absolute necessity of their removal needs
no demonstration. But who is there to see to the re-
moval? Private individuals may occasionally be found
ready to put themselves to any inconvenience, and prepared
to meet any unpleasantness in their efforts to improve the
living conditions of the people, but such efforts can be,
at the best, only scattered and sporadic in their action.
Sanitary reform being unremunerative work, private com-
mercial enterprise will not touch it, of course.1 In any
case, the obstacles interposed by conflicting interests would
be fatal to any ordinary association : the determined oppo-
sition of house-owners and tenants has frequently to be
encountered, and the compulsion of the law must often be
invoked. In short, on the grounds of both necessity and
efficiency, the intervention of the state, in the shape of its
representative, the municipality, is fully justified. I may
go further and say that it is practically impossible to con-
ceive of the prosecution of this work by any other authority
than that of the community itself.

1. That is, as a general proposition. It is easy to conceive of special
conditions under which, for instance, an employer might deem it to his
interest to improve the sanitary conditions under which his workpeople
were living.

218 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

In discharging its sanitary responsibilities, the duty of
the municipality must naturally be of a varied kind as
the cause of action may arise from uncleanliness of house
occupiers, from structural defects, or from overcrowding,
and, in accordance with the nature of the source of the
evil, comparatively mild or extremely stringent treatment
may be required. Much of this work the law facilitates, as
we have seen, by enabling the expense to be placed either
upon the occupier, if he be the party offending, or upon the
owner, and it is certainly equitable that such should be
the case. It is just as proper that the local authority should
penalize and forbid the occupancy of uncleanly and disease-
breeding houses as the sale of unsound meat. Of course,
the municipality cannot exercise a satisfactory surveillance
over its house property unless assisted by a staff of officers
adequate both in numbers and in intelligence. This neces-
sarily involves expense, but the safeguarding of the health
of the community justifies any expenditure that can be
proved essential to the accomplishing of this purpose.1
Fortunately, a large proportion of the houses in most places,
though by no means ideal, may be considered moderately
satisfactory from a housing point of view, that is to say,
they have no gross structural defects, are not overcrowded,
and are not unclean. Such houses it should be the aim,

1. A similar position is taken in T. R. Marr's report on "Housing Con-
ditions in Manchester and Salford " (1904), where it is stated (page 5),
". . . . the admirable work of the Sanitary Department needs extension.
More inspectors are required. Dr. Niven has suggested the need for a
house-to-house investigation of one of the Sanitary Districts of Man-
chester. We are convinced that the authorities ought to undertake such
an investigation continuously for the whole of Manchester and Salford,
for the prevention of bad conditions rather than their cure when they
have arisen. In all towns, small as well as large, experience has proved
that only by a system of careful supervision continuously exercised by
competent inspectors, is it possible to maintain the conditions essential
for health."

A great many of the German towns are recognizing the importance of
a policy of thorough and continuous sanitary inspection. English readers
will find in Mr. HorsfalPs recent book ("The Example of Germany")
a fund of accessible information on this point.

PRIMARY HOUSING REFORM 219

and is, in fact, the duty, of the local authority to see that
they are maintained in their existing satisfactory condi-
tion; no house that is sanitary now should be allowed to
become insanitary and yet be occupied, no house that is
not overcrowded now should be allowed to become other-
wise. In other words, the first and the most important
step in the administration of a housing policy by local
government should be the prevention of the extension of
improper housing conditions. To the attainment of this
end all the powers of the law should be invoked and rigor-
ously applied. That these powers are not inadequate will
hardly be questioned after perusal of Part II. of this book,
and the responsibility of any failure must be ascribed
largely to inefficient administration. It may be urged by
some that the high cost of securing efficient administration
in the direction mentioned excuses such failure inasmuch
as, in view of the constantly increasing burden of taxation,
municipalities are compelled to limit even their ordinary
expenditure. The only answer is that such work is one of
the primary duties of the body corporate, and that its cost,
therefore, should be regarded as a preferred liability. But
there is more than a slight probability that the expense to the
ratepayer incurred in preventing the development of sani-
tary evils will be far less than that which would subse-
quently make demand upon his financial resources for the
promotion of elaborate municipal schemes of dishousing
and rebuilding, in themselves (however necessary they
may be under the conditions that may have arisen), a
witness to lack of foresight and administrative sagacity.
As a matter of fact, so far as our municipal government
is concerned, its action has been averse, in general, to a
plodding, persistent, and apparently unheroic policy of
housing reform. Many exceptions to this statement may
be adduced, no doubt, but no more than will ' prove the

220 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

rule.' Our local legislators are but human, like tlie rest
of us, and are oftentimes inclined towards housing pyro-
technics in the shape of most extensive and costly demoli-
tion and reconstruction schemes, the execution of which
brings newspaper renown, public commendation, and, per-
haps, voting support. In writing in this manner, I do not
deny the utility of a wide-reaching scheme of slum recon-
struction at a proper time and under suitable conditions,
but wish to point out the mistaken idea presumably held
by not a few public bodies and private individuals as to
the function and place of such schemes. To look upon
them as a quick and sure cure-all for the housing evil
is to entertain hopes that are not only certain to meet
with disappointment, but likely to cause considerable mis-
chief in the community, and to bring about a misapplica-
tion of the public financial resources. To some extent,
however, these remarks are anticipating subsequent argu-
ment, and more will be said on a later page concerning
drastic dishousing schemes. This much appears, that a
most important duty of local government is to prevent the
further extension of unhealthy conditions of living, that
for this purpose the law offers adequate powers, which can
be made effective through a comprehensive and careful
system of local sanitary inspection and administration.
Preventive action of this kind should certainly form the
basis of a housing policy aiming at permanent ameliora-
tion : upon this the successful issue of a therapeutic treat-
ment depends. Therapeutics is that branch of science
which deals with the modes of curing disease, and, since
bad housing may well be regarded as a kind of disease, the
term may be appropriately applied to the consideration
of the methods to be adopted by local government in an
attempt to improve the condition of that portion of the
community suffering from its effects. I now pass, then,

PRIMARY HOUSING REFORM 221

to the consideration of the remedy for already existing
insanitation and overcrowding.

The treatment of insanitation, in so far as it does not
involve dealing with overcrowding, or with the material
reconstruction or demolition of property is comparatively
simple in view of the powers placed in the hands of the
local authority, a firm and consistent application of the
same being the all important requisite. Where structural
defects are so gross as to require considerable reconstruc-
tion or demolition, or where overcrowding is present, the
mode of procedure becomes complicated by the fact that
the dishousing of occupiers is necessitated. In urban
centres where cases of this kind are likely to be numerous,
it would be absurd to endeavour to deal simultaneously
with all. Any such attempt would be simply courting
the risk of signal failure. The exercise of discretion, how-
ever, will enable an appreciable amount of the dishousing
to be carried out without serious injury to the occupiers.
Slum rents, it may be observed, are not necessarily cheap
rents, in fact, they are often exorbitantly high for the
accommodation afforded, and it is not an uncommon cir-
cumstance for houses, situated outside of the slum area
and with superior conveniences, to rent at a price little,
if any, higher. Before taking action under its legal powers,
the local authority should carefully ascertain the extent
to which such accommodation is available, and should pre-
pare a register giving all requisite details of description.
It is also essential that inquiry should be made into the
size, earnings, and occupations of the families resident in
the property to be dealt with, information which the sani-
tary inspectors aided by the relieving officers and the
police, should have little difficulty in obtaining. This in-
formation will enable those cases to be picked out whose
treatment can, in reality, be simplified down to a compul-

222 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

sory change of residence. That is to say, other more
suitable accommodation is available for them at a reason-
able price and within a reasonable distance. The 1890
Housing Act (Part II.) provides that a court of Petty
Session, in declaring a closing order against an unhealthy
house, has power to allow the local authority reasonable
expenses incurred by removing occupiers, the amount to
be debited against the owner and recovered from him in
the ordinary way. In certain instances, the local author-
ity might be able to use this privilege to advantage. The
number of houses handled at one time should be kept
strictly within the capacity of the municipality, the prin-
ciple of individual supervision, upon which I have pre-
viously laid, stress, being observed. Should any of the
displaced decide not to settle in the houses placed before
their notice by the officials of the municipality, and go
into another district, the supervision should be carefully
maintained : if they enter another local jurisdiction, word
should be passed along. As a rule, people of this class
will not go very far. The houses where total displacement
has occurred on account of the necessity of reconstruction
or extensive renovation, as soon as they are placed in
proper repair and reinhabiting orders obtained, will in-
crease the accommodation available. Where demolition
takes place, and new houses are erected on the sites (as
will be the general rule), a like increase will occur. While
the treatment described will leave untouched a certain
proportion of the badly-housed, it will undoubtedly reduce
this proportion to a minimum, and the process of ameliora-
tion will not be so slow as might be supposed — our analysis
of Bradford's (Yorks) overcrowding revealed the encourag-
ing fact that all of what might be termed gross overcrowd-
ing in that town was caused by 2*79 per cent, of the popu-
lation. The numbers to be dealt with directly are not so
great as one might anticipate.

PRIMARY HOUSING REFORM 223

The cases that cannot be handled in this way may well
be considered the residuum, and include individuals and
families who are unable to pay the price of the most
moderate accommodation except by herding together, as
families, possibly with the addition of lodgers, into hope-
lessly inadequate tenements. Here is the hardest problem
the municipality has to solve. What is it to do with these
people ? They cannot be allowed to continue permanently
in their insanitary and overcrowded conditions of living,
frequently conducing to immorality, if for no other reason
than that they form a plague spot in the midst of the
community. Their financial means apparently will not
allow them to rent houses affording them sufficient (un-
crowded) accommodation ; hence to turn them out of their
present homes by applying the provisions of the law means
that either they must overcrowd elsewhere — if the careful
supervision that has been suggested be maintained, this
should be well nigh impossible — or they must drift to the
so-called, artizan's homes and common lodging houses, or,
if they be too destitute for these, to the workhouses. At
any rate, if this is not to be the case, outside help must
be afforded them. ]STot all are deserving of help, for the
testimony of both the police and the relieving officers of
the larger towns is to the effect that there is a heavy per-
centage of criminals among this class, and that the condi-
tion of many others is the result of drunkenness, laziness,
and wasteful extravagance. Over such let us not waste
any sentiment as to the sacredness of home — it is to the
public benefit that they should be driven out of their
warrens into the light of day. At the same time, there
are others whose dire poverty is their misfortune and not
their crime, to whom consideration might be shown with
a degree of satisfaction ; it seems desirable that there should
be a differentiation of treatment between the two classes.

224 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

However, in the application of closing orders to unhealthy
houses and abatement orders to the reduction of over-
crowded houses to the legal limit of occupancy, the treat-
ment must be rigidly uniform. Street by street, neighbour-
hood by neighbourhood, the local authorities must surely
and persistently pursue the policy of wiping out the evil
conditions of housing that arise from insanitation and over-
crowding.

The wisdom of the municipality stepping in as a bene-
volent agency is more than questionable, for past experi-
ence warns us how little it is likely to be appreciated, and
how soon looked forward to and demanded as a right,
thereby tending to exert a deleterious influence upon the
self-maintaining power of the lower strata of the com-
munity. Certainly, the less official private charity, es-
pecially in so far as it assumes an organized form (and it
is to be hoped that the next few years will witness con-
siderable development in this direction), should be stimu-
lated to operate so far as its resources will permit. The
local authority, through its sanitary and other departments,
can supply information concerning the deserving cases and
into these the private organization can examine, taking
such action as it deems proper. But so far as the direct
responsibility of the former is concerned, it should be
confined to the removal of the evils it is attacking and
to the prevention of their recurrence.

The process of housing reform, upon which I have been
dwelling, is based upon the fact that, negligence and
inefficiency of administration having contributed much to
the development of housing evil, a system of discreet and
efficient supervision may do considerable towards check-
ing further growth, and, in fact, reducing the present
proportions of the evil. I regard this active and continuous
supervision as a sort of moral training for the class of

PRIMARY HOUSING REFORM 225

people who come under its restraints, and the necessity of
such training is obvious to anyone who is acquainted with
their character and the nature of their surroundings. On
the part of some of our great municipalities, there has
been a disposition to rush into drastic schemes involving
extensive demolition of slum property and an elaborate
provision of house accommodation. The promises of such
attractive reforms are great, the reality disappointing, as
a rule. Slums have been destroyed, and new dwellings
provided, only to discover that those, on behalf of whom
the effort has been put forth, by no means appreciate the
sacrifices made, and prefer to reproduce their old un-
healthy environments. " The people's homes," says Miss
Octavia Hill in one of her writings, " are bad, partly
because they are badly built and arranged ; they are ten-
fold worse because the tenants' habits and lives are what
they are. Transplant them to-morrow to healthy and
commodious homes and they will pollute and destroy
them." The fact has not been sufficiently recognized that
people accustomed to the laxity of slum life will not
readily or easily fall in with any other mode of life. Even
if they could be bodily transplanted to the most favourable
conditions and the pleasantest surroundings, they would
still cling to old habits, or shall I say vices, and in time,
unless they have abandoned it beforehand, degrade their
new neighbourhood into the regular type of slum, or little
better than such. Before radical measures can be enforced,
an educative process must be set in action, and, until this
is attempted and a reasonable time allowed for its opera-
tion, it is a mistake to attempt these drastic schemes.
What must be the object of this training? Clearly, to
lead the denizens of the foul spots in our towns and villages
to appreciate the advantages of an orderly and decent life,
and the importance of respecting the elementary principles

226 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

of public and private health. It is hopeless to expect the
attainment of this by persuasive measures, and so the
compulsion of the law must be applied.

To summarize the suggested treatment, the local
authorities must maintain constant supervision over all
unhealthy localities. Building regulations must be
steadfastly enforced. Gradually, dwellings incapable of
being reclaimed from an unhealthy condition should be
ordered to be demolished, others, not so far gone, to be
improved; ordinary nuisances should be severely treated.
Careful but increasing pressure must be applied to over-
crowded dwellings with the object of reducing the number
of their inhabitants to a normal amount. Except for the
cost of the requisite machinery of organization, the work
can be done at comparatively small expense to the
community. The process is a slow one, for not even the
moderate powers, thus capable of being used, can be
imposed at first with anything like the strictness really
desirable; to do so would throw large numbers of people
homeless upon the streets. But each step in advance will
enable a longer step to be taken afterwards, and, in its
later stages, the work will be rapidly progressive. In such
reform the eclat of more drastic schemes will be missing,
much of it will pass unnoticed, and there may be no special
opportunity, for any particular administrator, of attracting
the gaze and admiration of the nation, but, for all that,
no work will be found more valuable, none is more requisite.
The operation will be both preventive and therapeutic ; the
formation of new slums, the degradation of property, will
be rendered impossible, and, at the same time, a gradual
but effectual cure of existing evils obtained.

227

CHAPTEE XI.
SLUM CLEARANCES.

The slum is the physical embodiment of the housing
evil, and much attractive argument has been put forward
in favour of a frontal attack upon the latter in the shape
of extensive slum demolition. London, Birmingham, and
Glasgow, not to mention other cities, have experimented in
this direction. The policy of the Cross Acts was regarded,
and is still by numbers of people, as the method of
housing salvation par excellence. Its importance in the
minds of legislators is indicated by the substantial inclusion
of the Cross Acts in the Housing of the Working Classes
Act of 1890. Public opinion has rarely failed to approve
attempts to place these Acts in operation. It is not
surprising that this should be the case as, on the face,
there seems to be no simpler nor more certain way of
treating the housing evil. The method of cure seems
analogous to the work of the surgeon by whom the
dangerous tumour is excised, at one operation, from the
body of the afflicted patient. When this can be done,
why resort to any other treatment ?

There has been, in general, but one consideration
standing in the way of a wide and free execution of the
powers of the Cross Acts and Part I. of the 1890 Act, and
that has been the effective one of expense. Urban house
property, even of the poorest kind, cannot be acquired for
a song, and local authorities ready in all other respects
have hesitated to shoulder the financial burden that would
result from any general application of the powers of slum

228 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

clearance placed at their disposal by statute law. Thus,
in spite of the favour with which this branch of housing
legislation was regarded, the loans sanctioned for clearance
work during the decade and a half intervening between
the first Cross Act and the 1890 Act amounted to less than
two and a half million pounds sterling, a comparatively
small sum for the country at large, and indicative of the
failure of the policy as the housing panacea. It is
significant that, during the last ten years of the decade
and a half mentioned above, the loans sanctioned were but
one-fifth of the total amount. The schemes of the
Metropolitan Board of Works secured the displacement of
approximately 29,000 persons, but at a net cost of £55
per person, a sufficient argument to most municipalities for
not attempting to follow suit.

Had it not been for this fact there can be no doubt
but that the period 1875 — 1890 would have witnessed a
universal attack upon slum property. At the time, it was
not realized, as it is beginning tot be realized now, that,
so far as their effect upon overcrowding and allied evils
was concerned, these clearances could be ranked as little,
if any, more than failures. It was conceived by the
promoters of clearance legislation that the people displaced
would be housed in good sanitary property under proper
conditions of space, ventilation, and so forth, the demolished
dwellings being replaced by new property of this kind.
As a matter of fact, those affected manifested the utmost
unwillingness to avail themselves of the superior housing
conditions provided in lieu of those from which they had
been forcibly ejected. But a very small percentage of the
dishoused sought the accommodation held out to them.
If it were not a matter of record, it would seem incredible
to the casual observer that any sane individual should
prefer the environment of the filthy, reeking slum to the

SLUM CLEARANCES 229

far superior conditions that have frequently been offered
to the slummer. Explanations of this remarkable conduct
have been sought, and various facts, or supposed facts,
have been adduced. Confining my attention to the more
prominent statements made, I find that the failure of past
clearing and rehousing schemes has been ascribed to one
or more of the following causes : — (1) Lack of any real
provision to take care of the dishoused families during
the period intervening between dishousing and rehousing ;
(2) the higher rents of rehousing accommodation as
compared with those of the original property; (3)
preference of tenancy in rehousing accommodation to
applicants able to establish a good record as tenants, a
qualification frequently lacking in the class of people
immediately affected by such schemes.

(1) With reference to the first point raised, it must be
admitted that dishousing which makes no provision for
rehousing is, under ordinary urban conditions, a foolish
policy at the best. It does not necessarily follow that, in
every case, the rehousing should be in the form of the
erection of new buildings; it is quite possible to conceive
of a situation where this would not be requisite, but it is
essential that some sort of provision should be made.
More than this, the provision should be made ahead of the
dishousing. If there be any possibility of forcing people
out of slum conditions, it will not be through schemes
that leave them homeless, in large bodies, with every
inducement to locate themselves in other districts under
similar conditions to those from out of which they have
just been driven. But this is just what is done when a
clearing scheme is pushed ahead of the provision of or
arrangement for rehousing facilities. Three, six or nine
months after the displacement, there is but little chance
of having the new dwellings filled with those for whom,

230 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

in reality, they were projected. The only logical conclusion
seems to be that, where a clearing and rehousing scheme is
deemed essential, the new accommodation for the people
affected should be provided ahead of the dishousing, and,
necessarily, on some other area, and that any rebuilding
on the area where the demolition takes place should be
without reference to the particular persons living in the
original dwellings.

(2) In providing rehousing accommodation, the matter
of rent has assumed considerable importance. It is often
stated that the new dwellings have been appreciably dearer
than those which they have replaced, and that, as a conse-
quence, the dishoused families have been practically
debarred from tenancy. Just to what extent this is true is
difficult to determine. As remarked previously, slum rents
are not necessarily low rents, and it is not unlikely that,
in many cases, the difference between the old and new
rents is not quite so great as has been imagined. Allowing
however, that a difference exists, cause for it is to be found
in the increased cost of building resulting from (a) the
higher price of materials and labour, and (6) more stringent
building regulations. The former is the natural result of
the working of powerful economic forces which it would
be useless and foolish to combat, but it has been urged
that, as regards the latter, the Local Government Board
regulations are unduly rigid and that reasonable relaxa-
tions would enable dwellings for the poorest classes to be
put up at an appreciably less cost, and, therefore, demand-
ing lower rents. The Gildart's Gardens dwellings in
Scotland Yard, Liverpool, represent an attempt to meet
the need for very low priced dwellings in cities. They are
substantial but unattractive buildings, the cheapest two-
roomed dwellings (two rooms and a scullery) being 2s. 6d-
per week, or Is. per room, counting the scullery as half a

SLUM CLEARANCES 231

room. It is not altogether improbable that, with favour-
able consideration from the Local Government Board, a
more attractive type of dwelling could be profitably erected
at a rent very little in excess of this figure, and this
without resorting to huge barrack dwellings. The double
tenements as erected at Richmond (two-storey cottage flats)
present the most favourable type for securing economy of
building with more privacy of family life than barrack
dwellings can possibly give.

Block dwellings are common enough in some countries
but have never appealed to English taste, notwithstanding
that at least from four to five thousand of such dwellings
are in existence in London and the provinces. Earlier
legislation insisted that rehousing under clearance schemes
should be provided within the same vicinity, and this fact,
combined with the expensiveness of land, naturally led to
the erection of block dwellings. Such buildings, capably
administered are far preferable to badly kept cottages,
but inferior to well kept ones. There is, obviously, less
privacy ; less chance for the healthy development of young
children, at any rate in the case of families situated on an
upper floor. To secure their orderly and decent regula-
tion, it is requisite to enforce strict rules, which place a
restraint upon the liberty of the family, justifiable enough
but not a little irksome to the average individual. By
enabling many more tenements to be provided to the acre
of ground, they favour, perhaps, a diminution of over-
crowding, though this all depends upon administration,
but, on the other hand, increase the overhousing evil,
or the overcrowding on area as it is sometimes termed.
The only justification that a dwelling of this type can have
is in the low rent of its tenements, but the high cost of
construction per room has prevented this being in evidence
so far. As a general thing, such dwellings should be dis-

232 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

couraged. So far as housing improvement is concerned,
there is possibly one function which they can discharge
with some degree of success, and that is the housing of the
residuum of our cities, the people who are confirmed slum-
mers and inveterate offenders against the sanitary law.
These might be compelled to live in barrack dwellings
under the strictest sanitary supervision, at least until they
learned how to live decently in decent houses : in their
cases, a restriction of the liberty of the individual is de-
sirable both for their own sakes and for that of other
citizens.

(3) Preference of tenancy has undoubtedly taken place
in filling up the dwellings erected in connection with
clearing schemes. It is not astonishing that new property
should invite the attention of a superior grade of working
class people, and that these should prove much more accept-
able tenants to landlords than those for whom, nominally,
the accommodation has been provided. The former as
tenants mean decently kept houses, paid up rents; the
latter, the reverse in each respect, or, if not that, a, great
deal of extra worry and trouble to prevent lapses in these
directions. The situation is decidedly against the slummer
in competition for the tenancy of such property. It is
often urged that it is a matter of little moment whether
the dishoused families become the actual tenants of the
new property or not, inasmuch as the houses vacated by
those who rent the dwellings will be open to them. But
some of the incoming families may have been paying a
higher rent in their previous houses, a not uncommon
circumstance, and, even if the rent has been no higher,
it is probably somewhat greater than that which the dis-
possessed slummer has been paying. And again, the renting
of a new house does not always mean a vacated house
somewhere else. The marriage rate among the working

SLUM CLEARANCES 233

classes is influenced, to a certain extent, by the availability
of house accommodation, and in so far as newly married
couples (not previously householders) occupy the new dwell-
ings, they leave no vacant accommodation behind them.
Their demand for the vacated houses also lessens the
supply of houses open to the dishoused slummer.

To a greater or less extent, then, these conditions have
affected rehousing experiments, rendering them largely
inoperative. But a further factor, more vital in nature,
needs to be taken into consideration. The demolition of
slum property temporarily or permanently removes the slum
from a certain number of square yards of land, but affords
no guarantee that the extent or virulence of slumming will
be permanently diminished. As has been pointed out,
conditions may be such, usually have been such, as to
permit the re-establishment of slum conditions in localities
hitherto free from the evil, or at any rate to enlarge the
boundaries of other slums. Hence, a distinction, not
always realised by housing reformers, needs to be drawn
between ' slum property demolition ' and ' slum demoli-
tion.' In reality, and this cannot be over-emphasized,
the slum is not so much the property as the people, and
one might as well expect the leopard to change its spots
as the mere change of roof to reform the regular denizen
of the slum. Place him in a home, spotlessly clean, com-
modious and thoroughly attractive, and he will do his best
apparently to reproduce, as closely as possible, the wretched
conditions of his normal state of life. He seems utterly
incapable of appreciating any of the advantages of a cleanly
and well-ordered life. Mere transition of dwelling, a de-
sirable thing in itself, will not accomplish much with him ;
he has to be trained, first of all, by a slow and severe
process of discipline, into the adoption of such a life,
acquiring its flavour piecemeal as it were, and, not till

234 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

this occurs, is physical environment likely to be a factor
of account with him. Not a little time and money have
been expended on much talked about schemes of clearance
and rehousing that could well have been made use of in
more profitable ways, but the real nature of slumming,
though obvious to any careful student of its character-
istics, has seemingly been overlooked, and, consequently,
attempted reform has pursued, in this respect, a course of
action of dubious benefit. This is my excuse for calling
attention to this matter in both the present and preceding
chapters.

It will now be understood that the writer does not attach
to clearing schemes anything like the importance, in
housing reform, usually assigned to them by popular
opinion. At the same time, he is far from denying that,
at a proper time and under proper conditions, such schemes
have their usefulness. As pointed out in the last chapter,
the proper time will be when, by careful inspection and
supervision, overcrowding and ordinary sanitary nuisances
have been reduced to a low percentage in the area to be
dealt with, the people having been trained under the
compulsion of the law (moral suasion alone having
but small effect upon the class dealt with) into regularity
of habits so far as their housing conditions are concerned.
There can, then, be some confidence that, when these
persons are compelled to leave their old dwellings, they
will be able to appreciate, to an extent at least, improved
surroundings. The money spent upon clearance schemes
will, then, have some justification in housing reform, and
there will not be an occasion for the criticism that the
public money has been spent in pulling down one slum to
build up another. The proper function of clearance
schemes is not to cure overcrowding, not to abolish
slummers from the face of the earth, but simply the

SLUM CLEARANCES 235

sanitary one of removing an unhealthy agglomeration of
dwellings. Their place is not at the first step of housing
reform, but rather at the last. They must ever be expen-
sive, but, if properly and effectively conducted, they
remove a menace to public health, and the expense is
thereby justified. In past experiments, the factor of
expense has proved to be a very serious one, and our survey
of the development of municipal powers through a long
series of Acts of Parliament marked successive attempts
to reduce such expenditure to the minimum. For some
reasons, it is fortunate that clearance schemes are
expensive, as municipal authorities will not be so likely to
undertake them without a good deal of consideration, thus
reducing the probability of unwise action in this direction.
Assuming, however, that the real function of clearing
schemes is recognized, it is undoubtedly important to
consider how the attaching expense may be kept down to
the minimum figure possible under the conditions. The
lands and premises acquired by compulsory purchase under
the powers of the various housing Acts in force from time
to time have been paid for very heavily indeed compared
with their reasonable market value. But the present
conditions as represented in the compensation clauses of
the 1890 Act have made the position more favourable to
the municipality, and the cost of compulsory acquisition
has not been so abnormal; there is little room, probably,
for legitimate dissatisfaction. So far as the net cost of
clearing schemes is concerned, its amount will depend
upon the policy to be pursued. If the land purchased is
to be put to the best hygienic advantage, it will mean the
giving over of a considerably larger proportion of it to
wide streets and open spaces. If the supply of working
class houses in the district is scanty, then the remaining
land, or such portion of it as is deemed necessary, ought

236 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

to be sold under agreement for the erection of this class of
property. This will mean, in all likelihood, a poor price
and a comparatively expensive scheme. Should the reverse
conditions hold good, the restriction as to the class of
property to be erected upon the sites need not form a
condition of the sale (of the greater part of the land, at
least) ; full market value will be able to be obtained, and
the expensiveiiess of the scheme correspondingly lessened.
If clearing schemes are not used as a remedy for over-
crowding, but simply as a means of removing property
which no amount of minor improvements will render
suitable for fairly healthy living, the question of rehousing
will not be so difficult as it has been in most past
experiments. Previous to demolition of the property,
overcrowding will have been reduced to a small percentage,
the occupiers of the dwellings will have been accustomed
to orderly ways of living, which will be likely to result in
better utilisation of income, so that response to their
demand for homes to live in, arising from the forthcoming
execution of a demolition scheme, will probably be
promptly made, in not a few instances, by private
enterprise. In so far as this does not take place, and
existing accommodation, of the class required and suitably
situated, is not available, the clearing authority must
perforce endeavour to make good the deficiency, though
not necessarily by building on their own account, a point
to which reference may again be made. But there is little
reason to believe that, under the conditions assumed, there
would ever be an extensive need of this.

The number of clearings required may not be so great
as would appear at first glance — a somewhat desirable
conclusion to arrive at in view of the present state of
municipal finance. The securing of ideal conditions of
housing in existing cities is impracticable, and housing

SLUM CLEARANCES 237

reformers should be careful to avoid ignoring much of the
good that they can do by reason of seeking after the good
that they cannot do. Remembering this, it is pertinent
to ask whether a number of slums could not be made
reasonably habitable without recourse to expensive
clearances. This presumes, of course, that some people
will still have (or choose) to live amid the bricks and
mortar of city buildings, having no desire to rusticate
amid the gardens some half-dozen or more miles away
from the scene of their daily activities, a fairly reasonable
presumption. Suppose that to such slums the suggested
system of more detailed and more effective sanitary
inspection is applied with the inevitable result of reduction
of overcrowding to a minimum, and of the maintenance of
fairly clean houses, streets and alleys. Suppose that
sanitary regulations are rigidly enforced to remedy defects
of lighting, ventilation, drainage, etc., in the houses, to
secure the removal of houses in themselves impossible of
sanitary reconstruction, also to pull down an obstructive
house or two here, another one or two there, and so on.
Is it not possible to conceive that, though the improved
conditions may not be perfect, still they may be such as to
give the inhabitants of such districts about the average
chance of life and health afforded within the inner limits of
our urban communities? While not claiming that every
slum area can be satisfactorily handled without recourse to
more drastic measures, personal observation convinces me
that many could be so dealt with, provided that the
municipality and its officers fulfil their duties with
patience, determination, ability and integrity. And the
municipal representatives or officials that do not exhibit
these qualifications are unworthy of office and an impedi-
ment to any kind of permanent reform.

It has been taken for granted in the foregoing discussion,

238 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

that, when clearing- schemes are undertaken, the burden of
the work of clearing and the expense thereof must fall
upon the municipality. Sanitary reform of this kind, like
the general administration of the sanitary Acts, cannot be
left to private individuals or organizations, for reasons
which have been briefly indicated in another chapter. The
distribution of the expense of clearance upon ground
landlords and building owners interested in the property
condemned would be approved by popular voice as an act
of justice. However, even supposing that such persons are
always responsible for bad housing conditions on their
lands and in their houses, the equitable distribution of the
expense according to the degree of responsibility would
form an insuperable problem. Nor must it be forgotten
that, by reason of inadequate laws and still more defective
administration, these conditions have grown up with the
passive, and sometimes, perhaps, the active consent of
the municipality, in consequence of which not a little
responsibility must be considered as resting upon the
municipality itself. Ideal justice is more often hoped for
than achieved, and practicability must determine course
of action in every case.

239

CHAPTER XII.
THE MUNICIPALITY AS LANDLORD.

In Part II. of this work, it has been shown that the
earliest housing policy, which received the formal appro-
bation of Parliament as such, was based upon the desir-
ability of municipal authorities associating themselves
with private individuals in the provision of dwelling
accommodation for the people. This policy has been con-
sistently fostered by successive Parliaments with increas-
ing emphasis upon the duty of the municipality in this
direction, until, to-day, on every hand are to be seen local
authorities filling acre after acre with workmen's dwell-
ings. Apparently, they have condemned private enter-
prise as inadequate, and some seem prepared to go almost
to the extent of municipalizing house-building, so far as
it concerns the great bulk of the population of their cities.
In these days of socialistic tendencies, the advocacy of
such a policy is not at all unlikely to spread : the desir-
ability of it so doing is another matter. Accordingly,
there is justification, in such a work as this, in dealing
with municipal house monopoly as one of the possibilities
of present tendencies, especially since the discussion will
apply not only to absolute municipalisation but also largely
to any municipal house-building on an extensive scale.

To start with my conclusion first, there need be little
hesitation in condemning as unpractical the idea of house
municipalisation. Those favouring the adoption (com-
plete or partial) of such a policy sometimes bring forward
a propter hoc argument of this nature. Gas and water,

240 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

they say, are frequently supplied by the municipality and,
if these can be so furnished with efficient service, what
reason can there be against the similar treatment of house
accommodation? Obviously, what argument there is for
the municipalisation of gas and water supply rests upon
the fact that such industries must necessarily be non-
competitive in any specific area, and consequently, within
that area, monopolistic in character. The choice is between
a private monopoly and municipal ownership, and public
sentiment nearly always casts its vote for the latter of the
two alternatives ; it is one of its weaknesses to imagine that
public service must necessarily be preferable to and cheaper
than private service. The possibility of the reverse being
the case under many conditions and that the welfare of
the community may be better conserved in industrial
matters by private management under efficient municipal
supervision hardly enters into the conceptions of a short-
sighted democracy. However, the same tendency towards
a close monopoly has not manifested itself in the supply
of houses, at least not in the large urban centres, and con-
sequently no true parallel can be drawn between the cases.
The assumption, by the municipality, of the position of
house-owner and landlord on a large scale, could hardly be
viewed with equanimity. Can the idea be seriously enter-
tained that the municipality, as house-builder, house-
owner, and landlord on such a scale, would be a success?
Already, local authorities are overburdened with responsi-
bilities, which are so varied and so intricate that proper
supervision is impossible, and far too large a dependence
has to be placed upon hired servants, the permanent staff,
whose interests, under such lax conditions, have not
always proved themselves to be identical with economy
and efficiency. Add to all of this the building of houses,
their maintenance in repair, the collection of rents week

THE MUNICIPALITY AS LANDLORD 241

by week, and a hundred and one other things connected
with the ownership of house property, affording every
opportunity for official negligence and corruption, and
can it rationally be supposed that a popularly elected body,
with but a few hours per week at its disposal, would be
capable of handling and supervising such complex details,
in addition to performing its numerous other duties, with
the care and efficiency that is not only desirable but
essential? Inefficiency of management would lead, in the
case of ordinary commercial organizations, to speedy bank-
ruptcy, or its equivalent, but, in the municipality, thanks
to the length of the ratepayers' purse and to defective
bookkeeping, such a contingency need not be immediately
anticipated, and the wealth of the community can be
squandered with undisturbed mind until industrial decay
and financial ruin loom threateningly near.

It is a matter of almost common repute how unsatis-
factory and illusive the account-keeping of state and
municipal bodies is prone to be. Cobden, addressing the
House of Commons in 1864, declared that " Throughout
the inquiries before Parliamentary Committees upon our
Government manufactories, you find yourself in a diffi-
culty directly you try to make the gentleman at the head
of these establishments understand that they must pay
interest for capital, rent for land, as well as allow for
depreciation of machinery and plant." l As pointed out
by Professor Bastable, in such industries there is constant
confusion between capital and revenue accounts, the latter
being swelled at the expense of the former : — " Receipts
that should go to capital are assigned to revenue, and ex-
penditure that ought to be met from revenue is defrayed
from other state funds or by borrowing."

1. Quoted by Bastable, Public Finance, p. 183 note.

242 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Besides the financial risk, there is also a moral danger
in municipal house monopoly. The great bulk of the
tenants of such houses would belong to the working classes,
and would constitute the majority of the electorate. It
goes without saying that these would be deeply interested
in securing a minimum rate of rental, especially since
normal rent would consume an important portion of their
weekly income. Constant pressure would be brought to
bear upon the administrative body to this end, and suasion
could be reinforced by the coercion of the polls. Any ap-
preciable amount of profit made on the yearly transactions
would raise an immediate demand for lower rents, and
there would be, ultimately, a real danger of part of the
responsibility of the rent of municipal dwellings being
thrown upon the general rates, to be met out of the pockets
of another class of society. Actual evidence of such a
tendency is to be found, at the present time, in more than
one municipality which has undertaken to provide houses
for its working-class citizens. The difference between this
and poor-law aid is a mere matter of nomenclature. Those
familiar with the history of the old Poor-law will call
to mind the mischief that was wrought in the earlier
years of the nineteenth century by the system of relief in
aid of rent, but municipal housing on an extensive scale
would be capable of working much greater harm. It is
true that such relief would not be administered by poor-
law officials, that its real nature would be largely obscured,
and that therefore its influence for evil would operate more
slowly, yet the ultimate results would be similar, nay,
much more baneful to the nation on account of the extent
of the area affected. The following quotation from an
article written twenty years ago by the late Lord Shaftes-
bury, a man by no means unfavourable to municipal
action, is to the point : —

THE MUNICIPALITY AS LANDLORD 243

" Hitherto we have done too little ; there is now a fear
that in. some respects we may do too much. There is a
loud cry, from many quarters, for the Government of
the country to undertake this mighty question ; and any
one who sets himself against such an opinion is likely to
incur much rebuke and condemnation. Be it so. But
if the State is to be summoned not only to provide houses
for the labouring classes, but also to supply such dwell-
ings at nominal rents, it will, while doing something on
behalf of their physical condition, utterly destroy their
moral energy. It will, in fact, be an official proclama-
tion that, without any efforts of their own, certain por-
tions of the people shall enter into the enjoyment of
many good things, altogether at the expense of others.
The State is bound, in a case such as this, to give every
facility by law and enabling statutes ; but the work itself
should be founded, and proceed, on voluntary effort, for
which there is in the country an adequate amount of
wealth, zeal, and intelligence." l

Theoretically, perhaps, the municipality might be able
to prevent the conversion of its house property into rate-
aided dwellings, but, in practice, it would be found other-
wise. The influence of interested representatives on the
municipal controlling body, the power of the working-class
vote would not fail to overpower, sooner or later, any
opposition. In truth, there is some possibility that, in the
course of a generation or two, the demand of the working-
man might be extended from cheap houses to free houses :
our socialist friends would certainly not demur. Any
provision that relieves people of the necessity of relying
upon their own exertions exercises a pauperising influence
in proportion to its efficacy in destroying self-reliance and
independence of character, virtues the absence of which in

1. Nineteenth Century, December, 1883, p. 935.
Q

244 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

a nation forecasts decay and ruin. Thus, philanthropic,
like municipal housing, may work in this direction,
though, perhaps, not with the same intensity, since the
recipient of its benefits recognises the voluntary character
of its services and is correspondingly grateful, whereas the
gifts of the municipality or state are regarded more as
something due to him, which he has a right to demand,
and for which no special feeling of thankfulness is re-
quired.

Apart from what has heen said, rate-aided dwellings, as
the result of a general policy of municipal housing on a
monopoly or fairly extensive scale, cannot be regarded
otherwise than as a state subsidy in aid of wages, which
means, in the long run, a subsidy in aid of employers.
Of course, the appropriation of this benefit by the em-
ployers would be gradual, but in the meantime any tem-
porary benefit obtained by low-waged classes resident in
the cities would tend to stimulate the very movement
which thoughtful men are anxious to avoid, the migration
from country into town.

Another aspect of the municipalization of house build-
ing must be considered in that it would mean a great
addition to the ranks of municipal employes, whose
numbers are already large in many localities. The pre-
sence of such a large body of municipal employes would
constitute menace to efficient democratic government. It
is not estimating human nature too cynically to suppose
that such men would be peculiarly susceptible to the in-
fluence that could be exerted upon them by their employer,
the local authority, and, without doubt, the effort of rival
elements in the local council to secure their support at the
polls would result in corruption and a consequent lowering
of civic morality.

Much more might be said in way of criticism ; sufficient

THE MUNICIPALITY AS LANDLORD 245

has been put forward to indicate that municipal house
monopoly cannot be viewed with any degree of favour by
the supporter of civic welfare. It may be thought that
this discussion is beside the mark since no municipality
has expressed its desire to monopolize, within its borders,
the building of working class dwellings. But the argu-
ments made apply, with almost equal force, to any attempt
on the part of a municipality to provide houses on a larger
scale. Besides, the entrance of the municipality into such
an industry cannot avoid forming a serious check to private
enterprise therein, and it must be seriously borne in mind
that this may drive capital out and thus leave the muni-
cipality, willing or unwilling, with the stupendous task
of supplying the house needs of the whole working class
population. There is some reason to suppose that fear of
municipal competition, especially the sort of competition
which, directly or indirectly, has its support in the rates,
has already contracted the activities of private enterprise.
Capital will not undertake undue risks. It is noteworthy
that, before the Glasgow Municipal Commission, the state-
ment was made by several witnesses that if that Corporation
charged itself with the work of building working class
houses, " it must be prepared to build all the houses of
that class, as private enterprise would not or could not
compete with it." x It is important to call attention to
the fact that, in the handling of men and of money, muni-
cipal action is distinctly inferior to private enterprise :
if it manages to do the work equally as well, it is usually
at greater cost, in other words at an economic loss. The
important factor of the personal management and per-
sonal interest of the private builder is lost to it, of course.
It was most stoutly asserted, before the Glasgow Commis-

1. Report and Recommendations, etc., of the Glasgow Municipal Com-
mission on the Housing of the Poor, page 16.

246 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

sion, to which reference has just been made, that private
builders could provide houses at as cheap a rate as that
Corporation could do, unless it made them a charge on the
rates, and this in spite of the greater cheapness with which
money could be borrowed by the Corporation. But the
fact that the municipality may, and, indeed, is likely to
make good its own deficiencies by a subsidy from the rates
is sufficient to induce private enterprise to cease investing
capital at such risks.

Under any ordinary circumstances, the competition of
the municipality with the private interests, upon which its
growth has depended, is undesirable. The very life and
prosperity of the community is based upon individual
action and enterprise and it may well be questioned whether
interference of this kind, except its equity and. reasonable-
ness can be demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt,
can be conducive to the ultimate prosperity, welfare and
happiness of the community at large.

I do not refuse to admit the possibility, though hardly
the probability, of conditions under which intervention
might be justifiable. If, by some chance, the supply of
houses and vacant building land in any community became
largely centred in the hands of one owner or of a co-operating
group of owners, with accompanying forcing up of rents
for the purpose of securing altogether abnormal profits,
there would be some reason for the local authority attempt-
ing to combat these conditions in the interests of its
citizens by arranging for the erection of property in
sufficient quantity to produce an appreciable effect upon
rents, to this end securing land by compulsory purchase,
if found necessary. Even under these circumstances, it
does not follow that the actual building should be under-
taken by the local authority. It would be far better for it
to acquire the land, as stated, then leasing out the same

THE MUNICIPALITY AS LANDLORD 247

under such covenants as would secure the desired end.
Naturally, this would be an expensive process, as the rents
that could be obtained for the land would be diminished,
in most cases, by reason of such restrictions, but the result-
ing levy upon the rates would have its justification in the
exceptional conditions.

A plea for municipal house building is sometimes based
on the assertion that private enterprise has failed to meet
the demand, and that the proof of this lies in the existence
of overcrowding. One constantly meets with such state-
ments as these : — "The product of private enterprise, then,
is insufficient in quantity and inferior in quality,"1 and
" Private enterprise, as represented by the ordinary builder
or by companies or societies like those described in the
previous section, has failed to supply the deficiency, and
there is no evidence forthcoming that in the near future,
under present conditions, it will make it up." 2 Is it
possible fhat too much emphasis is being laid upon the so-
called short-comings of private enterprise. Everything
seems to point in that direction. Certainly, if our experi-
ence during the last censal decade may be taken, the con-
demnation can hardly be based upon the record of recent
years, for private enterprise during that period proved
itself able to provide housing accommodation at a rate
greater than the increase in population, so that, at the end
of the decade, overcrowded houses were considerably fewer
in number than at its beginning. As pointed out in an
earlier chapter, municipal house building was so limited
during this period that its effect is negligible. A few
additional figures will throw further light on this debated
question. In 1891, the population of England and Wales
was 29,002, 525 ; in 1901, it was 32,527,843, an increase of

1. Thompson. Housing Handbook, p. 9.

2. Manchester Housing Report, p. 82.

248 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

3,525,318, or 1217 per cent. In 1891, the total number of
houses, inhabited, uninhabited, and building, was
5,862,068; in 1901, 6,771,693, an increase of 909,625
houses or 15*52 per cent. Here is at once, then, evidence
of the statement — 12' 17 per cent, increase in population,
but 15'52 per cent, increase in number of houses. Pursuing
the calculations further, I find that, in 1891, the number
of inhabitants per house (not tenement) was 4'95, that the
housing accommodation during the decade was provided
at the rate of 1 house for every 3'88 individuals of in-
creased population, so that, in 1901, the number of in-
habitants per house had fallen from the 4' 95 just men-
tioned to 4'80. Surely, in face of these facts, a word may
be said in protest against too eager condemnation of
private enterprise in house building. Of course, private
enterprise is not organized into a charity bureau, and,
therefore, it may fail to provide for a class of people whose
misfortune or crime places them practically under the
pauper line. There is assuredly no moral duty resting
upon business enterprise to build for charity, and, though
sentiment urges otherwise, it is certainly dangerous for the
state or municipality to attempt to do so, except to a very
limited extent, under rigorous conditions, and with a
definite reformatory policy in view. One can go into the
poorest neighbourhood of any city and meet with families
subsisting on what appears to be a minimum wage, and
yet find some of these very families living under far more
decent and desirable conditions than others possessing
larger incomes — able to pay their landlords and to live
without recourse to the poor rate, except, perhaps, in face
of some great exigency. They economise their resources,
others do not. Is the municipality to provide comfortable
homes for the latter at rents in inverse proportion to their
incapacity or extravagance? If this is to be the treat-

THE MUNICIPALITY AS LANDLORD 249

ment, such vices will have a premium placed upon them.
But if it is conceded that it would be most perilous for the
municipality to attempt a policy leading to any such re-
sult, can culpability be charged to private building enter-
prise for declining to burden itself with a responsibility
promising neither profit nor honour? Eather let the
blame be placed upon the municipality which has allowed
so many years to pass by without attempting to meet
squarely the moral and educational issues yearly raised by
the continued presence of such a class of citizens within
its borders. The proof of necessity for municipal housing
cannot be deduced from any argument along these lines.
Again I repeat that, before the municipality interferes,
directly or indirectly, with the province of individual
enterprise, there must be established beyond question the
need of its action and its capability of more efficient per-
formance than could be obtained from private effort. And
efficiency here means more than the mere placing of brick
on brick or of timber to timber : it takes into view all
ultimate consequences — the social and economic welfare
of the municipality as a whole, as well as of the particular
classes composing it — with careful consideration of the
balance of advantage or disadvantage. Even if private
enterprise had been weighed in the balance and found
wanting, the case for municipal interference would not be
established until undeniable proof had been brought for-
ward that the former had failed in spite of all the support
that the municipality could possibly have given to it.
There are many things that the municipality can do well
and ought to do, and which require and demand all its
energy and care. The more attention it gives to assumed
duties, the burden of which could be borne equally satis-
factorily by other agencies, the more will the former be
neglected, the less assured and substantial will be the
social and economic progress of its community.

250 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

The next chapter will include further remarks upon the
relation of the municipality to private effort in the housing
of the poor, but before closing the brief discussion of the
present one, it is desirable to refer again to the question of
rehousing as apart from the provision of additional ac-
commodation. The following quotation, taken from the
Glasgow Report, states the generally accepted view on this
matter : —

". . . . Others, while not laying down any general
principle, pointed out that, if the Corporation by its own
action dishoused a considerable population of the poorest
class, and thereby created an abnormal scarcity of
accommodation, the same obligation rested upon it as
the law imposes upon railway corporations and others
who displace more than a certain number of the working-
class population to see that accommodation is provided
for them within a convenient distance." x

The extreme opposite of this position, if it needs an ex-
ample, is illustrated in municipal dishousing operations,
within the present generation, under local improvement
Acts. The Manchester Corporation dishoused a consider-
able number of people in this way, without rehousing,
especially in St. Michael's Ward; so did Glasgow. The
latter city is stated to have dishoused some 19,000 persons
between 1871 and 1875, leaving them to find accommoda-
tion in the existing houses of the city, this being done
under the powers of the City Improvement Act of 1866,
and the dishousing process, it may be added, continued long
after 1875. 2 Instances of similar work are to be found
in the history of every municipality : the two cities named

1. Report: Glasgow Municipal Commission, pp. 15-16.

2. Report: Glasgow Municipal Commission on the Housing of the
Poor, p. 11.

THE MUNICIPALITY AS LANDLORD 251

by no means stand alone. However, in recent years, muni-
cipal privileges in this direction have been severely re-
stricted. Rehousing is entirely a local problem ; whether
or not the clearance of any area should be associated, with
the erection of property for the accommodation of the
whole or part of the people displaced is to be determined
purely by local conditions. No general rule can be set
forth, and this is partly recognised, by the law permitting
the central authority to dispense with the inclusion of a
rehousing clause in any clearance scheme of a provincial
local authority.1 In all cases of municipal, railway, or
other clearances, a very careful analysis of the situation
is desirable — the state of the building trade, the house
facilities of the district, the position of the people to be
placed, and so forth. If it is clear upon the evidence
accumulated that the absence of special rehousing is going
to seriously discommode these people and that there is no
prospect of private building obviating the inconvenience
of its own initiative, then the dishousing body should be
required to provide a remedy. This applies to the muni-
cipality as well as to the railway or other private organisa-
tion, but it must be remembered that the local authority
have many ways of stimulating private enterprise in build-
ing, which, save under the most extraordinary conditions,
will bring about the provision of all house accommodation
desirable without themselves laying one brick. The words
of the Glasgow report just quoted I heartily endorse,
though the sentiment contained is more frequently than
not regarded as imposing actual house building upon the
municipality. "An abnormal scarcity " of accommodation
is to be created by dishousing, under which circumstances
the local authority is " to see that accommodation is pro-
vided "2

1. 1890 Housing Act, Sect, 11 (2).

2. The italics are mine.

253

CHAPTER XIII.

SOME FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF MUNICIPAL HOUSING

POLICY.

The lesson of the previous chapter is that " municipal
housing policy" should not be based upon municipal
housing. It must not be supposed that the position taken
disputes the morality of the municipality undertaking any
kind of housing ; a careful study of what has been said will
make clear that this is not the case. In the promotion of
proper housing conditions, there is much important work
for it to do beyond that which has already been indicated
in the previous discussion, and some little space may be
profitably devoted to the consideration of this.

The municipality might well give to its citizens an
instructive object lesson in the possibilities of suitable
cottage building by erecting a few dwellings in its working
class neighbourhoods. These should be models of what
can be done in building with due regard to economy of
construction. The dwellings should be self-supporting,
forming, in every way, a means of comparison with the
production of the private builder. This work would
undoubtedly stimulate the latter as it would afford a
practical standard of house-building, the lesson of which
could be appreciated by all. The influence of such houses
upon the minds of the working class, and therefore upon
the nature of their demand for house accommodation,
would probably be considerable. Even the municipality
itself would benefit by having to put its own bye-laws
into practical representation. The Manchester Citizens'

254 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Association, in the report presented through the able pen
of Mr. T. R. Marr, recommend.: —

"That the Town Councils should use more fully the
powers they possess under the Housing of the Working
Classes Acts, of 1890 and 1900, and erect, in many
different parts of the towns and of the country contiguous
to the towns, groups of working class dwellings, exemplary
in respect of size and arrangement of rooms and of
offices, and of pleasantness of exterior, and provided with
adequate yard space and with small gardens. The objects
of this work, which should be self-supporting, should be
(a) to provide part of the supply of wholesome dwellings
needed by the towns; (6) to raise the working-man's
ideal of a dwelling; and (c) to set a higher standard for
those who are building or may build workmen's
dwellings." 1

The sentiment of the recommendation is in harmony
with the previous remarks, though the way in which it is
phrased prevents me from endorsing it just as it stands.
To advise the Town Councils to use " more fully " the
powers they possess under the Housing Acts, in connection
with the context, leads me to believe that the Association
had in mind much more extensive building than my own
suggestion anticipates. This is borne out by the further
statement that one of the objects of this movement should
be "to provide part of the supply of wholesome dwellings
needed by the towns." Any part played by model dwellings
in house supply should be incidental, and, provided that
the purpose of simply furnishing illustrative types for the
social education of the working man were strictly adhered
to, would be very small, negligible in fact.

A certain amount of housing might be undertaken by

1. Manchester Report on Housing Conditions, pp. 5-6.

MUNICIPAL HOUSING 255

the municipality with a purely reformatory purpose in
view. In an earlier chapter, reference was made to the
general undesirability of block dwellings for the poorer
classes, argument being made that the functions which
such dwellings could best fulfil would be the compulsory
housing (under rigid supervision) of the city residuum —
the confirmed slummers and inveterate offenders against
the sanitary law. Such compulsion might be considered,
to some extent, an invasion of the liberty of the individual,
but where the liberty of the individual is dangerous to
the comfort and safety of the body, there is every justifica-
tion for restriction. In carrying out the details of any
arrangement of this kind, many difficulties would have to
be met, but probably not insuperable ones. Powers could
be granted to the municipality, by the Legislature, under
such checks as might secure their reasonable and judicious
utilisation, without unduly impeding action. In slum
reformation, whether by clearance or otherwise, a few of
such buildings under municipal control would be of great
service, and would immensely assist the working of our
sanitary legislation. With some relaxation of building
regulations, suitable dwellings could be put up at a very
low cost, let at the rate of about a shilling a room per
week, and yet be self-supporting. The experiments of
Liverpool in clinker built houses indicate that this is far
from impossible.1 Such a rent could hardly be bettered
in the slums themselves ; and those, whose wages, properly
economized, will not enable them to pay even this small
amount, are proper subjects for the workhouse, or, in
selected cases, for the attention of organised private charity.
The Glasgow City Engineer proposed, before the local
Commission, that a scheme somewhat along these lines,

1. Rents for three-room tenements figuring out at 4s. per week, giving
5 per cent, return on capital expenditure.

256 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

though with the compulsory feature less obvious, should be
undertaken by the Corporation; the policy involved had
previously been associated with the names of Professor
Smart and Mr. John Mann, of Glasgow. The following
extracts from the final report of the Commission will
explain the nature of the official proposal : —

" Much interest was felt in a scheme submitted and
explained by the City Engineer to supply a class of
one-roomed houses at a rent of Is. per week, provided
ground could be obtained at about 10s. a yard. Speaking
of the necessity of housing what he called 'the nether-
most unit/ he brought before the Commission the
possibility of erecting such a house — built of brick,
cement plaster in the inside, with specially constructed
wooden floor, water-tight but without deafening, and
cheapened in every way that human ingenuity could
devise. ' Undesirables,' he thought, and not a few
witnesses agreed with him, should get a chance in some

such erection as this The Commission therefore

recommend (2) that an experiment should be made by
the Corporation in the erection of a building or buildings
on the lines laid down by the City Engineer, to be
reserved for those who, while unable to show any factor's
line, or other certificate, are willing to submit to neces-
sary regulations as to cleanliness, respectable living,
order, and punctual payment of rent, with the view of
rehabilitating their characters, and in time qualifying
for a better house. The houses should be of the plainest
construction, with indestructible fittings, and should be
capable of being quickly and efficiently cleansed."
Under the provisions of the 1890 Housing Act, the
Public Works Loan Commissioners have power to lend

1. Report: Glasgow Municipal Commissions, pp. 20-21.

MUNICIPAL HOUSING 257

money to any railway company or docks or harbour
company, or any other company, society, or association,
established for the purpose of constructing or improving,
or of facilitating or encouraging the construction or
improvement of dwellings for the working classes, or for
trading or manufacturing purposes (in the course of whose
business, or in the discharge of whose duties, persons of
the working classes are employed) ; also to any private
person entitled to any land for an estate in fee simple,
or for any term of years absolute, whereof not less than
fifty years shall for the time being remain unexpired.1
The period of repayment of loans must not exceed forty
years, and the money advanced on the security of a
mortgage of any land or dwellings solely must not exceed
one moiety of the value. The Small Dwellings Acquisition
Act, 1899, empowers the local authority to advance money
for the purpose of assisting persons to acquire the owner-
ship of small houses in which they reside or intend to
reside. There seems to be much in favour of widening
still further the facilities open to private enterprise for
obtaining loans for the building of working class property.
The municipalities, certainly the larger ones, can borrow
money at a comparatively low rate of interest, and legisla-
tion that would enable and induce them to make use of
their power of securing capital cheaply for the benefit of
organizations and individuals desirous of erecting this
kind of property would powerfully stimulate building
activity. A great deal has been done in this direction
in Germany. English readers will find much to interest them
on this point in Mr. Horsfall's volume on " The Example
of Germany," one of the most important English works
dealing with housing policy that have been issued during
recent years. In 1902, the Grand Duchy of Hesse estab-

1. 53 Viet. c. 70 : § 67 (1).

258 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

lished a National Credit Bank for the supply of money to
assist in the building of working class dwellings. Through
this bank, the State gives credit to its constituent com-
munity, and the latter can either themselves build, or make
loans to building societies to the extent of 90 per cent,
of the total cost of dwellings. Towns in which there is
an insufficient supply of wholesome cheap dwellings, and
whose local authorities do not attempt to build can be
forced to accept a loan and to lend the money obtained to
a building society " of public utility " where such is will-
ing to build and desires a loan. Further, local authori-
ties are urged by the Government to aid the building
societies by placing the services of their building officials
at the disposal of the societies without charge, by taking
shares in the societies, by granting them favourable terms
respecting interest on, and repayment of the loans made
to the societies, and. by granting them loans without mort-
gage security; also by letting the building societies have
building land on low terms and by remitting the usual
contributions towards the cost of street making and sewer-
ing.1 Just as to the feasibility of developing our facilities

1. Horsfall, pp. 47 — 50. See also in the same book reference to
Prussia, p. 39; to Saxony, p. 74; to Frankfurt am Main, pp. 125 — 9.
I venture to quote in full that portion of the decrees of the Prussian
Ministers relating to this subject : these decrees were issued in March,
1901.

" Towns will promote the provision of an increased supply of small,
wholesome, cheap dwellings for the poorer classes, if, whenever the
housing conditions are unsatisfactory, they give as much support as
possible to building societies "of public utility." It should be a con-
dition for receiving help from the community, that, without regard to
the particular legal form chosen by them, the building societies are
bound by their articles of association to seek the one object of pro-
viding, in houses built or bought by them, wholesome and suitably
arranged dwellings for families of the poorer classes, at low rents ;
that the dividends payable to the members be restricted to not more
than 4 per cent, on the amount of their shares, and that, in case of
liquidation, not more than the nominal amount of the shares be pay-
able to the shareholders, any surplus being used for public purposes.

" It should also be considered how far, and under what conditions,
the same help which is granted to building societies of public utility
may be given to persons who undertake to erect small, wholesome, and
properly arranged dwellings to be let at low rents.

MUNICIPAL HOUSING 259

on exactly the same lines as Germany, there is room for
legitimate difference of opinion, but that further develop-
ment would be beneficial to the interests of the municipality
and the state seems tolerably certain.

The advocacy of municipal ownership of building sites
has become an important feature of the housing reform
propaganda. It is urged that municipalities should have
and exercise the power of acquiring land, within and sur-
rounding their areas of jurisdiction, to as large an extent as
possible, so that there may be always an abundance of land
under the control of the towns which may be used for the

"Next it is a question whether building societies should be helped
by remitting in their favour part or the whole of the cost of streets
and sewers, and by allowing them to defer for a considerable time
payment of the sums they owe. It is desirable that the decision
arrived at respecting this subject shall provide that any payments
which are remitted shall become due, and shall be enforced, if the
dwellings are ever used for purposes other than that for which they
were first intended, and that this obligation be legally recorded against
the sites. The remission of the fees usually paid by builders to the
Building-police is also a desirable form of assistance.

" Towns can, further, give important aid to building societies by
placing at their disposal without charge the co-operation of the build-
ing officials of the town. As it is a matter of experience that work-
men's building societies can, as a rule, obtain but little capital, the
chief way in which such societies can be helped is by the towns
taking some of their shares, and making it as easy as possible for
them to obtain loans on mortgage cheaply, and on terms as favourable
as possible in respect of repayment. So far as other funds are not
available, or are not provided by the Town Councils, the surplus funds
of the communal Savings Banks can be used for this purpose with
peculiar propriety.

" Even if a town is not in a position to pay for shares with its own
funds, or to lend money of its own to building societies, it can easily
give them facilities for obtaining capital, by itself borrowing money
for them from the National Insurance Institutions on the security of
its own credit. The National Insurance Institutions often give very
favourable terms to the agents who effect loans to building societies,
so that the town, even if it adds ^ per cent, to the rate of interest to
cover any loss which may occur, can yet supply the need of building
societies for loans on the security of their land at low rates of interest.
Further, a town can help a 'building society to obtain loans by
becoming security for them, as many Ehenish towns have done. In
these cases some Insurance Institutions lend amounts which consider-
ably exceed the usual limits.

" Lastly, for the purpose of aiding building societies, a town may,
under certain circumstances, sell them some of its land at a low price
and allow them considerable delay in the payment for it." — Horsfall,

pp. 39-40.

260 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

extension of the cheaper sort of housing accommodation.
The land is to be kept in perpetual ownership by each town,
only leases of it being granted.1 Under the supposition
that the town is to be a great house builder and owner,
the consistency and business logic of such a policy is
obvious. If there is justification for the former so is there
for the latter. However, the desirability of municipal
house ownership has not been admitted in this discussion
and, consequently, cannot be allowed as an argument for
municipal land proprietorship. That the municipality
should acquire and reserve suitably situated land for parks,
open spaces, and boulevards goes without saying. The
financial position of the municipality determines the reason-
able limit of this kind of improvement, but, within that
limit, the more that can be done the better. Such expen-
diture is entirely unreproductive financially, but incal-
culably productive from the point of view of the health
and well-being of the citizens. There is also every reason
for the acquisition of sites for future libraries, museums,
baths, washhouses, and other public buildings. Further-
more, in overcrowded towns, little, if any objection need
be taken to the holding, by the municipality, of a moderate
amount of land with particularly favourable situation
which it might be desirable to lease, under easy conditions,
for the erection of small dwellings. To approve a more
ambitious policy than this is practically to advocate the
municipalization of land. Now, whatever may be the ad-
vantage of municipal ownership of land, it has the great
disadvantage of exposing the municipality to considerable
financial risk. In the first place, the municipality has to
buy dearly. In the second place, it has to buy at a risk.
The movement of the values of town sites is by no means a

1. Cf. T. R. Marr, Housing Conditions in Manchester and Sal ford,
p. 7, § 5.

MUNICIPAL HOUSING 261

uniform progression. Values may remain stationary or
retrograde ; even in the same town may be found instances
of both forward and backward movements. Also land may
increase in value during one generation, and the reverse
take place during the following period. Where the town
has to buy at a price above the market (and even members
of the local government have not been averse to stimulate
the price for their own private advantage), it follows that
stationary land values mean an unprofitable investment,
especially when it is borne in mind that, to secure the
erection of working class houses, the ground rent obtainable
may have to be reduced to a very low figure. In popular
opinion, a strong point in favour of the policy now under
consideration exists in the retention of the unearned in-
crement by the community. But it also secures to the
community the unearned decrement should this occur, and,
in any case, the extensive use of land for cheap houses is
going to reduce to a minimum the possibility of any large
increment. The municipality could only get an appreciable
increment by departing from its ostensible purpose of
securing the land for housing and selling it for offices,
warehouses, shops, and such like.

A great deal of importance has been assigned to securing
for the community the unearned increment from urban
land, though the unearned decrement attaching to so large
an area of English agricultural land has been passed over
with as little notice as possible.1 As a measure of finan-
cial reform, the value of such a change is extremely du-

1. The argument upon this point would be, no doubt, something in
this way. The increment from urban land arises from the collective
activities of the community, therefore it should belong to the community.
The decrement from agricultural land results from the accident of
foreign competition for which the community is not responsible. The
reasoning is more specious than convincing. Could one, then, take it
for granted, by analogy, that, in a case where an urban council con-
struct a new thoroughfare, diverting traffic from an older one, the local
authority would reimburse property owners along the line of the latter
for unearned decrement arising from its action ?

262 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

bious,1 and, as a matter of fact, no workable equitable
scheme for appropriating the unearned increment has been
produced. A great deal of skill has been expended upon
the discussion of this question, resulting in a fairly volu-
minous literature, which fact, combined with a certain
amount of incredulity as to its important or practical bear-
ing upon the housing problem, will excuse the present
writer from devoting more attention to it.

1. Cf. Professor F. C. Montague's article on "The Unearned Incre-
ment," Diet, of Political Economy, vol. i., p. 383 : —

" But further it may be urged that the State has an indefinite power
of taxation, and that under a democracy, which is the most costly of
all forms of government, taxation is always becoming heavier, and is
more and more thrown upon property, especially, where landowners
are few, upon landed property. Under these circumstances, it is cer-
tain that the national and municipal authorities will in future draw an
ample revenue from landed property whether or no any unearned
increment has accrued thereon."

263

CHAPTER XIY.
HOUSING REFORM AND TAXATION.

The municipality is invited to help forward the solution
of the housing problem in several different ways, among
which that of taxation is assuming special importance in
the utterances and writings of many reformers as well as
in the mind of the general public. At first glance, there
seems to be but small connection between improvement of
housing conditions and alteration of the system of local
taxation, but the student of the recent housing literature
of this country will not read very far before he will have
emphasized and re-emphasized upon his attention that in
tax reform lies the key to the whole situation. Unfortun-
ately, rhetorical exaggeration is frequently a conspicuous
feature of this literature, a fact which hinders rather than
helps conviction. Serious students of the subject will not
ignore any proposed solution that bears upon its face the
slightest trace of feasibility, but they certainly cannot be
expected to be converted by anything but solid reasoning
from cause to effect. Nevertheless, the agitation for the
taxation of land values, and, in particular, the taxation of
urban sites, has undoubtedly made considerable impression
upon public opinion, especially since its supporters have
interlinked their proposal so cleverly with the housing
reform movement. It is not intended, in the few pages
that can be given to this question, to attempt a full dis-
cussion, but rather to ascertain how the proposed reform is
viewed by its advocates, and how far their arguments may
be regarded as reasonable.

264 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Under present conditions, our urban communities derive
their funds for public expenses mainly from the receipts
of taxation based upon the rental values of occupied build-
ings, or rather upon those values less a certain deduction
(usually about 15 per cent.) which is intended as an allow-
ance for outgoing expenses of the buildings in the shape
of repairs, etc. Land unbuilt on is either not rated at all
or else at its agricultural letting value, half the rates being
remitted, in the latter case, under the Agricultural Rating
Act : the income from it, therefore, is practically neglig-
ible. The sum of the rental values of any locality (with
the deduction named) forms its annual rateable value and
the ratio between this and the amount required by the
estimates for the year's expenditure establishes a certain
rate in the £ for that year. This system has administra-
tive simplicity whatever its defects may be : the difficulties
and dangers of an official assessment of property values
are avoided.

The reform proposals take as a premiss that the rates
paid by the occupier fail to reach the ground owner, at
least in a sufficient amount, and therefore advocate the
necessity of a special rate upon the site value, assessed
separately from the building value. Single taxers are
often found earnestly supporting this movement, but the
reform so persistently fought for by Henry George was
essentially different from the present suggestion of housing
reformers. The single tax theory proper would substitute
all other taxation (local and imperial) by a tax on land
values, which must be made equal to the economic rent of
the land apart from improvements. Housing reformers,
who do not happen to be single taxers, do not go so far as
this, but urge the imposition of a tax on urban site values
(not necessarily equal to the economic rent) as part of a
system of local taxation in which the financial burden

HOUSING REFORM AND TAXATION 265

hitherto resting upon the occupier shall be relieved, to a
large extent, by the ground owner. There are others who,
without recommending the application of the single tax
theory in its complete form, urge that all local taxation
should be imposed on ground values. The arguments
usually adopted, and the influence exerted by the move-
ment will be understood from the following extracts.

The minority report of the Royal Commission on Local
Taxation1 (signed by Lord Balfour of Burleigh, Lord Blair
Balfour, Sir Edward Hamilton, Sir George Murray, and
Mr. James Stuart) has been a source of no little moral
strength to believers in the desirability and possibility of
a reform of the nature already indicated. The report
urges that : —

". . . there is a strong argument for rating site values
on the ground of public policy, regard being had to the
effects of taxation on industry and development. Our
present rates indisputably hamper building, which is a
necessary of life, and of business of every kind. Now,
the tendency of our present rates must be generally to
discourage building — to make houses fewer, worse, and
dearer. The effect of substituting a site-value for an
ordinary rate in a town will be, roughly speaking, to
decrease the burden in the outskirts and increase it at
the centre, and any increase of building on the out-
skirts tends to reduce the pressure for accommodation
all through the town, while the value of the accom-
modation also is likely to be improved by the light-
ening of the burden on the building value. While the
rating of site-value thus concerns the public at large
as an administrative reform, it is of special importance
in connection with the urgent problem of providing

1. VI., 1901.

266 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

house accommodation for the working classes. Any-
thing which aggravates the appalling evils of over-
crowding does not need to be condemned, and it seems
clear to us that the heavy rates on buildings do tend to
aggravate those evils, and that the rating of site values
would help to mitigate them."

A couple of general elections ago, the taxation of land
values was made a party-cry, and the succeeding paragraph
is quoted from a leaflet circulated at the time : —

" For our present rates we should substitute the taxa-
tion of land values. An assessment must be made of the
unimproved value of land everywhere, i.e., the value of
the land apart from any buildings or fixtures or im-
provements. The tax, then, must be levied on the true
land value, whether the land is in actual occupation or
not, and whether or not it happens at that moment to
be " ripened " for sale in building plots. Under the
pressure of the tax, more land would be thrown on to
the market, and land everywhere would be obtainable on
easier terms by those who wish to use it. Sites now un-
used would be put to fuller use. If land were taxed
according to its true value, there would be a re-adjust-
ment of the burden of taxation as between different
districts, which would have a most beneficial influence
in stimulating building enterprise. Heavier taxation
would fall on the fully developed sites at the centre,
while the outer districts would be relieved from the

burden which now hampers this development

Again, we should be freeing buildings from the burden
of rates. By levying rates on buildings, we make build-
ings dearer, and the inevitable consequence is that fewer
are built. Under our present system of rating, builders
cannot afford to build, because occupiers cannot afford

HOUSING REFORM AND TAXATION 267

to occupy so many or such good houses as they could if
buildings were not liable to be rated. If we cease to
levy rates on the value of buildings, we shall remove the
first of the two main causes of the dearness and scarcity
of houses." l

During the years 1903 and 1904, three Bills were brought
before the House of Commons, one presented by Mr.
Macnamara, the second (known as the Municipal Bill by
reason of the support it received from local authorities)
by Mr. Trevelyan, and the third (the Scottish Bill) by Mr.
Caldwell, but none of the three succeeded in becoming
law. The memoranda of the first two bills indicate that
their purpose (whatever the ultimate policy of their
authors may have been) was to impose a tax on urban site
values in addition to the existing taxation on buildings.
Thus, we read : " This Bill is framed with the object of
providing local authorities in urban areas with a new
source of revenue in relief of the present rates, and so
diminishing the existing burdens on building enterprise "
(1903 Bill), and, again, " It is provided by this Bill that
all valuation lists on which local rates are based shall con-
tain a separate assessment of the land values of rateable
premises " (The Municipal Bill). The same is true of the
Scottish Bill, " The assessor shall make up the valuation
roll for the burgh, with additional columns for the purpose
of showing the extent of land contained in each separate
piece of ground, with the annual value thereof at four
per cent, on the selling price."

The above references make plain that housing reformers
are proposing, under the name of taxation of (urban) land
values, two different schemes, one that the levies of the
city should be raised from both land and buildings directly,

1. For easily accessible reference, see Thompson's Housing Handbook,
p. 263.

268 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

the other that the whole of the local taxation should be
thrown upon the land.

The latter proposal is, of course, Henry Georgeism in a
pruned form. It is based on the theory, a tolerably correct
one where the tax is levied at the point of incidence, that
a tax on land values falls on the land owner. But this
being the case, does not such a method of taxation do
violence to every principle of justice? Taxation is not
merely getting money from a community, but the getting
of it equitably, and no community has any moral right to
relieve part of its members capable of bearing taxation
from supporting a fair share of the burdens resulting from
its existence as a community. The work of a community
is undertaken for the good of the whole, and the mere fact
that some portion of its membership incidentally derives a
special and peculiar benefit from this work (while a possible
justification of differential treatment) is no reason why the
other part of the population should be relieved entirely
from its civic indebtedness. Injustice should be sufficient
of itself to condemn any proposed change in our system
of taxation. As a general rule, it is better to put up with
the known evils of an old established tax than to risk the
unknown ones of a new tax whose effects are too indefinite
to be traced. To a certain extent, the taxed will have
adjusted themselves to the old system, thereby mitigating
some of its inequality.1

The proposal to associate a local tax on site values with
the present taxation on buildings is much more reasonable,
though it yet remains to be seen whether this is really
practicable. There has been much discussion concerning

1. " The argument for a tax, or mode of taxation, that it exists, is
always a very strong one, when the abolition would necessitate other
taxes to supply its place. The mere antiquity of the system by giving
time for the adjustment of the burden on the subject taxed makes it
fall lighter, very much lighter, than any novel tax or method possibly
could." — Report on Local Taxation, 1870.

HOUSING REFORM AND TAXATION 269

the incidence of local rates, but there seems to be good
reason to accept the view that the incidence is largely upon
the occupier, except, as pointed out by Mr. Blunden, under
the special conditions existing in the congested areas of
the metropolis (and, may it not be added, of the large
provincial centres), in exceptionally advantageous suburb-
an sites, and in stagnant or dwindling towns. This being
the case, it would seem that, so far as local taxation is con-
cerned, the ground owners might consistently be asked to
bear more of the annual indebtedness of the community.
But there are serious difficulties in the way.

Those who have carefully studied the incidence of taxa-
tion are fairly well agreed that if there is to be any surety
of a tax on ground values falling on the landlord, the tax
must be levied on him directly. This would mean extra-
ordinary difficulty of administration, involving enormous
expense. A maze of contracts between the original ground
owner, chief rent holder, ninety-nine year lease holder,
short lease holder, and house owner, will mate it a problem,
indeed, to place the tax just in the right place.

If the tax is to be levied from the occupier with power
for him to deduct from the rent, the administrative diffi-
culty still remains. There may be half a dozen persons
concerned in the ownership of the ground, and, on ele-
mentary principles of fairness, the amount deducted by
the occupier from the rent he pays to the owner, and de-
ducted by the latter from the amount he pays to the lease-
holder of the ground, should be divided among the pro-
prietary interests in proportion to the benefits derived by
each from his share in the ownership. The difficulties of
ascertaining the status of the parties concerned and. of
determining the proper share of each are not to be under-
estimated : they might prove insuperable.

It is generally asserted by the more moderate advocates

270 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

of the kind of taxation now being discussed that they
have no desire to tax improvements but that they propose
the tax on land values because it is the one way to strike
pure economic rent. This assumes that economic rent, in
urban centres, at any rate, is easily determinable, at the
same time presumably recognizing that the actual rent
paid for building land may be widely different. Thus, in
each case of urban rent, there would occur the necessity of
a careful analysis of its component parts. The work in-
volved can be imagined and, after all, the best that could
be done would be but a guess. As Professor Nicholson
points out, the complex relationship of a building and its
site to roads, lighting and water systems, etc., stands abso-
lutely in the way of accurate determination of economic
rent.1

It is claimed that recourse to the taxation of urban land
values will facilitate the solution of the housing problem
by throwing land on the market that under present con-
ditions would be held for a rise. How far is this likely to
be the case ? It must be granted that, in an unprogressive
or decaying town, such a thing as holding for a rise will
be absent; landowners, unless influenced by sentimental
reasons, will be eager enough to get rid of their land with-
out other pressure. In progressive towns, on the other
hand, parties holding land for a rise will have to stand the
tax, but will they sell? If the landowner sells, he will
get for his land not its value before the imposition but that
value (supposing other conditions remain the same and that
the tax is viewed as a permanent addition to the fiscal
system) less the capitalized value of the new tax at its
initial rate. Now with increasing population and a grow-
ing industry, tax or no tax the value of urban land will
go up, and consequently the land owner will calculate the

1. See his Principles of Political Economy, vol. iii., p. 322.

HOUSING REFORM AND TAXATION 271

chance of making more in a few years by enhanced value
as against the total amount of taxes he will have to pay
plus loss of interest, etc. The effect of the tax in
causing land to be thrown upon the market, unless
made so high as to approach absolute confiscation,
would be far less, probably, than is anticipated by
the advocates of the so-called reform. Most of the
land it could influence would find its way on the market
anyhow. Moreover, it should be borne in mind in connec-
tion with the proposed policy of forcing land on the market
that every vacant plot of ground forms one of the breathing
lungs of the city, and, though the owner's sole reason may
be personal gain, he incidentally confers a benefit on the
community by holding open the land, the value of which
benefit must be set off in part against the disadvantage of
a restriction of the area for building in that locality. Fur-
ther, the imposition of site value taxation must necessarily
penalize the addition of garden space to houses, a most
undesirable thing.

Of course, the imposition of the tax would diminish the
value of all land in the market and prices would fall. A
fairly heavy tax would confiscate quite a large proportion
of the value of the land ; the fact that the existing holders
would lose the whole capitalized value of the tax, with,
perhaps, a further decrement for uncertainty, while the
municipality would require, say, twenty-five years to secure
for itself the equivalent of that taken from the holders at
one blow, seems to be a piece of economic injustice so far as
the latter are concerned, to say nothing of the financial dis-
turbance likely to be caused in an investment market which
at present attracts much of the capital of the country. The
fall in price and the uncertainty of future taxation would
make ground rents a far less attractive investment for
capital, and it would be correspondingly more difficult to

272 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

raise capital upon them. Thus, the builder would have to
pay more heavily for the loans he secures, a condition
which would tend to restrict his activities in house build-
ing; believers in the municipalisation of house property
will consider this, perhaps, a point in favour of the tax.

One is forced to the conclusion that there is little possi-
bility of such a system of tax reform, as that to which this
chapter has been devoted, playing a substantial and im-
portant part in the solution of housing difficulties. Admin-
istrative and other changes may introduce improvements
into our fiscal arrangements, and it is to be expected that,
in so far as these establish an approximately just distribu-
tion of burdens, social conditions in general will feel the
benefit. There is, indeed, far too great diversion of opinion
upon the real incidence of local taxation to justify any
reform movement which assumes as its basis a perfectly
definite and rigid incidence : as yet our knowledge is in-
sufficient to decide what the distribution of incidence is,
and, beyond that again, how far such distribution, all
circumstances being taken into consideration, is equitable.

273

CHAPTER XY.

THE MUNICIPALITY AND THE SUPERVISION OF URBAN
BUILDING EXTENSION.

English towns are, with few exceptions, in a state of
fairly active growth. On the borders of every important
industrial centre, extensive suburbs are springing into
existence with a rapidity that is amazing. Some of these
suburbs are largely made up of middle-class houses, often
presenting a charming appearance. Others cater for the
working classes, and, in an appreciable number of in-
stances noted by the writer, are quite attractively ar-
ranged, considering the limited amount of capital that
can be profitably invested in each dwelling. But, in not
a few cases, jerry-built property, badly arranged, house
crowded on house, narrow streets, are painfully in evidence,
obviously marked, in spite of newness, for easy degradation
into dilapidated and insanitary slums, homes for those
who lack the moral fibre essential to cleanly and orderly
conduct of life. This is an unfortunate prospect ; it would
be still more unfortunate if no attempt should be made to
apply preventive measures with the minimum amount of
delay. The improvement of the central areas of our towns
can be achieved only very slowly and at much expense,
but the exercise of foresight and administrative ability
can. bring about the establishment of conditions which
would secure the towns against the repetition, in the
suburbs, of the same building evils that have rendered
some of the older districts such unpleasant places to live
in. Through the building acts or bye-laws there is al-

274 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

ready provided a means of enforcing sound and sanitary
building, but the course of building is more or less
haphazard. It is true that some regard is paid to the
construction of streets and so forth by the municipalities,
but there is a marked absence of carefully arranged plans
based on a broad and well-conceived building policy.

Many of the cities of Germany have taken an advanced
position in this matter; building extension has come to be
regarded by them as a matter of the utmost importance
and demanding careful regulation by the municipality.
Their building regulations contain much that is interest-
ing and instructive, and I feel that space devoted to some
description of the same will by no means be wasted.

The General Building Law (1900) of Saxony well illus-
trates the new movement at work in various parts of
Germany. This law provides that the building up of dis-
tricts, as yet practically unbuilt on, must be carried out
according to the requirements of a building plan prepared
for each district by the local authority : such a building
plan may also be prepared for districts already built on.
The plans are to pay special attention to the position of
the buildings which must be such as to secure an adequate
amount of sunshine, also to the arrangement of streets with
a view to maintaining both sufficient width and convenient
communication (all streets with continuous buildings must
have a minimum width of 13 yards, which is increased to
18| yards for streets with busy traffic). Open spaces,
public shrubberies, public recreation grounds, sites for
churches and school buildings are to be provided for in
suitable number and extent. The plans are to decide, the
general character of the district being taken into considera-
tion, whether factories and workshops shall be allowed,
also whether close or open building shall be the rule.
Streets with continuous lines of building must be inter-
rupted in sufficient measure by streets of open building,

URBAN BUILDING EXTENSION 275

and the density of building and population in the outer
districts must be suitably restricted. The maximum
number of stories to a building must vary according to the
character of the place and the width of the street, ranging
from three in the suburban districts to four or five in the
central. The owner of land marked out for public streets
on the building plan is prohibited from putting up any
but temporary buildings thereon, and these, with all fences
put up after the determination of the plan, must be re-
moved at his expense when the land is needed for use as a
street or public square. The Building-Police Authority
has power to prohibit building or undesirable alterations
in a district for which it is proposed to form a building
plan or to alter an existing one. Such prohibition holds
good for two years from the date of its publication but
then lapses if the building plan has not been definitely
adopted. The prohibition illegalizes the division of plots
of land for which the permission of the above authority
has not been obtained.

In cases where the position, form or size of plots of land
within the area covered by a building plan prevents the con-
venient and proper use of the land for building purposes,
the municipality can rectify boundaries or proceed to a
redistribution of the land, with or without the consent of
the owners.1 Plots of land too small for building sites

1. The following describes the method of redistribution : —

" The plots of ground belonging to all the owners concerned are to
be thrown together, and the public roads which the new building plan
makes unnecessary are to be included. From this mass the land shown
by the building plan to be intended for the future public roads must
first be separated, and the building land which remains must then be
distributed in such a way that each owner of a plot or plots of land
shall have a share of the total value corresponding to the share which
he had in the whole amount of land before redistribution. The com-
munity must have land for public roads assigned to it to replace the
roads which were absorbed. In fixing the values on which the re-
distribution plan is based, and which are to be fixed with the help of
experts, all material and legal conditions must be taken duly into
account. For each of the plots of land suitable for building pur-

276 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

must be sold to the community, unless the owners volun-
tarily arrange to dispose of them : the community will
distribute them among the owners of the other plots, from
whom the money it has paid out will be recovered.

Cologne, since 1901, has been under the " zone " build-
ing system to which reference has been made in the pre-
ceding paragraph. For building purposes, the town is
divided into four districts. In the central district — the
old town — buildings may be four stories high and from
seventy-five to eighty per cent, of a site may be built on.
In the district encircling this central part, detached or
semi-detached houses are to He the rule and no more than
from forty to fifty per cent, of a site covered. Surrounding
this area, except in certain portions of the town where the
extension of the villa style of building is provided for
right out into the rural outskirts, lies a zone of more urban
suburbs in which buildings of only three stories are
allowed, with a covering of the site varying from sixty-five
to seventy-five per cent. Finally, on the outer edge of
the town are the rural suburbs, in which but two stories
are permissible with a covering of from fifty to sixty-five
per cent, of the site.

Sufficient has been written to indicate the nature of the
control which, in the future, the urban authorities of Ger-

poses one or more plots of land, as far as possible in the same place,
must be given. Plots of land with buildings on them, as a rule,
subject to rectification of their boundaries, are to be restored to the
persons who have hitherto owned them. The land, which, according
to the building plan, is to be used for the future roads, so far as it is
not used at once, must be distributed, when provision has been made
for the necessary means of access to the newly divided plots, among
the various owners of plots, in the same proportion as the building
land, and, as far as possible, in such a way that, for each owner, his
future building plot and his share of the future road may lie together.
Unavoidable differences of value between the earlier plots and those
received to replace them can be settled in money." — General Building
Law, Kingdom of Saxony (July 1, 1900), § 58, quoted from T. C.
Hors fall's The Example of Germany.

URBAN BUILDING EXTENSION 277

many intend to exercise over the building up of their
towns. If loyally and persistently adhered, to, the policy
must produce residential conditions veiy superior to those
that now exist, presuming that it is associated with strict
and diligent sanitary supervision. How far the resulting
social and hygienic gain involves economic loss is a ques-
tion not easily answered. Better housing conditions will
result in greater economic efficiency on the part of the
worker. Against this has to be set the burden of any ex-
penditure necessary to bring about such improvement, also
the retarding of industrial and commercial development
within the towns by the restrictions upon the location of
factories, warehouses and the like. It is possible that a
too rigid administration of a policy of this kind would
drive industrial and manufacturing interests to other local-
ities, and with them the source of supplies for the main-
tenance of a part of the working population. However
this might be, there is certainly much to admire in the
ideals which the Germans have set before their urban
centres.

Much has been done in our own country towards the
better supervision of urban building, and, in referring to
the development of German policy, it is not intended to
underestimate at all the value of this work. But it has
been essentially a control of detail and there has never yet
been officially propounded, in an English urban community,
a broad and far seeing scheme of building extension. The
towns have been allowed to grow up haphazardly; build-
ings have been put up and streets constructed with little
consideration of their relation to other buildings and
streets. Especially important is the matter of street con-
struction, and the attaching questions of width, direction,
reservation of certain roads as boulevards, connection with
other thoroughfares are vital to the health and pleasure

278 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

of the community. I do not suggest that it would be de-
sirable for England to import bodily the German system,
but I certainly think that we should at least copy from that
country the general idea of adequate supervision of present
and future urban extension.

There is even reason to suppose that town areas ought to
exercise some influence over the constructive activities of
neighbouring localities. It is quite easy to understand
how the good work of an urban community may be partly
nullified by the indifference of independent suburbs, care-
less of the accumulation of property obviously on the
direct road to " slummery." The irony of the situation
exists in the probability that the growth of the town will
cause the absorption of these suburbs, and the citizens will
then be put to the expense of applying reformatory
measures at a cost infinitely above that which would have
been necessary originally to prevent the evil. As one way
of meeting this peculiar and unsatisfactory condition, it
has been suggested that for certain general purposes, of
which building supervision would be a very important one,
the district surrounding and economically subsidiary to
each large town should be placed under the control of the
central municipality. A different suggestion is that ad-
vising the formation of Provincial Councils with authority
over such districts in the matters indicated. It has also
been recommended that regulation be obtained through
the formation of a department of the Central Government
with power to control. The relative efficacy of these plans
can be finally determined by practical experience alone.
I am inclined to think, however, that the device of a pro-
vincial council or some such body would be found of much
service in certain cases. The City of Manchester, for in-
stance, is geographically continuous (or practically so)
with several other large towns, Salford, Ashton-under-

URBAN BUILDING EXTENSION 279

Lyne, Oldhain, Bolton and Rochdale ; some important
urban districts also are in close proximity. An attempt to
extend the authority of the central city (Manchester) over
any of the other towns would give rise to violent conten-
tion : in fact, it would be unfeasible. The formation of a
body such as that mentioned, adequately representing each
interest concerned, would be most calculated to secure
harmonious action and substantial results, though, natur-
ally, a good many rough spots would have to be worn
smooth before the attainment of a mutually satisfactory
working policy. In cases where towns are more isolated
in situation, it might be practicable to adopt the first-
named suggestion of extending the authority of the towns
over the adjoining districts in these matters of building
extension — the exercise of this power in any instance
should be made subject to the approval of the Local
Government Board.

It is not to be concealed that the administrative difficul-
ties in the way of any of these plans are considerable, but
there is no need to regard them as insuperable. The
opposition of interests between contiguous local authorities
has led to much that is unsatisfactory in housing con-
ditions, and will lead to very much more unless some effort
is made to remedy the existing situation : any plan that
contains a reasonable promise of doing this should receive
the earnest attention of those interested in civic welfare.

281

CHAPTER XVI.

SOME SPECIAL ASPECTS OF HOUSING BY VOLUNTARY ENTER-
PRISE. TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES AND THE HOUSING
PROBLEM.

The previous chapters have dealt with the general
relationship that should exist between the municipality
and private enterprise in the housing of the working
classes. It would be unsatisfactory to close the discussion
without some reference to special efforts in the way of such
housing made by one form or another of private enter-
prise. I regret that it is not practicable to devote more
than a single chapter to the discussion of this aspect of the
English housing movement. However, the numerous and
copious references scattered through our periodical litera-
ture and elsewhere render a detailed treatment, to some
extent at least, a work of supererogation in connection
with the present essay. The housing work of a number of
organisations will be lightly touched upon, the co-operative
societies, the building societies and the semi-philanthropic
housing associations : reference will also be made to the
projects of the Garden City Association. Though a different
topic, advantage will be taken of this chapter to include in
it some brief remarks upon the relation of transportation
facilities to the housing problem.

The co-operative societies of the country, particularly
those of the sister counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire,
have done considerable work in assisting their members to
purchase or build their own homes. The co-operative
wholesale society helps on the movement by lending

282 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

money to the local societies at a low rate of interest. As a
result, quite a large number of houses has been erected by
the societies or by their members on money borrowed
from the former. A report made in 1903, a summary of
which is included in Chapter VII., recorded the building
in this way of more than 37,000 houses, representing an
investment of capital by the societies to an amount well
exceeding eight millions sterling. Since that time, there
has been a steady increase in the number of houses and,
correspondingly, in the amount of investment. The
societies have operated in at least three distinct ways :
(1) by lending money to their members to build for them-
selves, (2) by building houses and selling the same to
members, and (3) by building houses of which they retain
the ownership, simply renting them out to members. The
Public Works Loan Commissioners were authorized by the
Housing Act of 1890 to lend fifty per cent, of the capital
outlay of co-operative and other societies for housing pur-
poses at the low rate of 3J per cent, interest. It appears
that little use has been made of this privilege. Along
with the housing work of the co-operative societies should
be mentioned that of the building societies. There can be
no doubt that these societies have played a great and use-
ful part in the supply of cottage dwellings. It is true
that many such organisations have been conducted on im-
proper principles and even corruptly, but this is not true
of the majority of them, which have been successful in
enabling working people to become their own landlords,
and, sometimes, to become the landlords of others.

Of course, the advantages of house building through the
co-operative and building societies apply only to a fairly
prosperous class of workers and do not reach the very poor.
It must also be noted that such societies find their largest
field of activity on the outskirts of the cities, in the smaller

VOLUNTARY ENTERPRISE 283

towns, and in semi-rural districts. In the cities there is
usually present in the minds of the working classes a greater
or less degree of uncertainty as to employment or as to
continuance of employment in any one locality, and there
is, anyhow, less attractiveness in the ownership of a city
cottage dwelling than in that of the more commodious
suburban home with its gardens and pleasant surround-
ings. These conditions, combined with the high cost of
urban house building, are powerful obstacles to the de-
velopment of tenant proprietorship within the cities.

The reasons mentioned make it clear that the work of
these societies offers no solution of the real housing prob-
lem. The thrifty people, benefitting by their help, are
not the kind who live in overcrowded and insanitary houses.
At the same time, the spread of tenant proprietorship
among any section of working people must have some in-
fluence upon the general standard of housing. It provides
a stimulus of no little value for others around them. Be-
sides, the houses thus built are an element in the total
supply of dwellings which, in so far as it works towards
a decrease of the relative intensity of demand will counter-
act, to that extent, any tendency towards excessive rent
charges.

There can be little doubt but that the building activities
of organizations of this kind are capable of considerable
extension, and it is desirable that every legitimate induce-
ment should be put forward to bring about the same. To
this end, it might be desirable for the loan facilities, al-
ready placed at their disposal by the government, to be
further improved, particularly in the direction of reducing
the interest charge . Inasmuch as the co-operative soci-
eties have behind them an immense amount of capital,
much of which is invested at a low rate of interest, the
increase of governmental loan facilities would be less im-

284 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

portant to them than to the building clubs and societies.
So far, the South Wales building clubs appear to have been
the only ones seeking to any marked degree the financial
help of the Public Works Loan Commissioners. An appre-
ciable decrease of the interest charge and a reduction of
formal red tape and official procedure to the minimum,
consistent with provision for the safety of the loans and
for their proper use, could hardly fail to stimulate power-
fully the activities of such organisations. A building
society is on its safest ground when established, on a small
scale, in some definite, limited area ; the detailed and con-
tinuous supervision of the members is then exercised over
its affairs, and the localized character of its business en-
ables them to do this with efficiency, by reason of their
personal knowledge of the situation. Small societies of
this kind have been very successful and have accomplished
an enormous amount of work.

Under favourable conditions, which, perhaps, cannot be
expected to occur very frequently, the development of
organisations similar to that of the Baling Tenants
Limited must be regarded as a welcome addition to the
ordinary kind of co-operative building. The members
forming the association combine together for the purpose
of building houses to be rented by them from the society.
The loan of capital can be more easily secured, and pur-
chase and construction on a wholesale scale reduce the
cost of each house. The system is so arranged that a ten-
ant compelled to leave the neighbourhood can dispose of
his interest without much difficulty. To quote the official
arguments made in favour of the experiment at its initia-
tion, there is obtained (1) the minimum of speculative
risk in letting, (2) security to capital, (3) economy in buy-
ing, building, and borrowing, (4) individual responsibility
without anxiety, and (5) the sharing of surplus value
equitably.

VOLUNTARY ENTERPRISE 285

The movement lias made quite a little progress. A Co-
partnership Tenant's Housing Council was organised in
1904 which takes an active part in forming tenant housing
societies and in endeavouring, by conferences and the pub-
lication of suitable literature, to stimulate public interest.
From the Second Annual Report of the Council, for the
year ending June 30th, 1906, it appears that, at that date,
there were five tenant's societies actually operating, in-
cluding the Tenant Co-operators, Ltd., Ealing Tenants,
Ltd., Sevenoaks Tenants, Ltd., Anchor Tenants, Leicester,
Ltd., Garden City Tenants, Ltd.; the present capital of
the societies being over £52,000, and the present value
of their property £105,000. The report states further
that two other societies had registered during the year,
the Beacon Hill Builders Limited, Haslemere, and the
Bromley Tenants, Kent, and that societies were in course
of formation at Birmingham, Bournville, Brighton, Berk-
hampsted, Cardiff, Hampstead, Manchester, Oldham, Ox-
ford, and Swansea.1

In the provision of housing accommodation for working
people, one of the most striking features of the latter half
of the nineteenth century was the work performed by phil-
anthropic and semi-philanthropic associations. It is not
necessary to go into the statistical details of their work
again, as they have been given in a previous chapter.
Their united efforts, largely limited to London, succeeded
in providing housing accommodation for many thousands,
and indicated what might be done in this way. The special
help granted to them in the form of cheap land, arising
from the building restrictions which the vendors (the old

1. For other particulars see Thompson's Housing Handbook, pp. 183-4;
Second Annual Report of Co-partnership Tenants' Housing Council :
Co-partnership in Housing by Mr. F. Maddison, M.P., "The Speaker,"
June 23rd, 1906 : Co-operative Housing by Miss Sybella Gurney
(Pamphlet of Co-partnership Tenants' Housing Council).

286 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Metropolitan Board of Works) were obliged, by statute, to
include in the conditions of sale, was a very important
factor in their financial operation. The determination of
the London County Council to discontinue this practice of
the former Board and to build for itself removed the un-
usually favourable conditions under which the Peabody
Trust and other organizations were working, and this
naturally affected their further development. Whether
the building policy of these companies has been in the
best interests of the people housed is a matter of opinion.
Their resort to barrack dwellings might have been the
necessity of the situation at the time, as the law stood,
but it has resulted in the infliction upon us of a type of
dwelling which hardly encourages that privacy of family
life which it is so desirable to cultivate among the working
classes, while the stringent discipline necessary to secure
decency and order in the every day-management of the
buildings, suitable though it would be for a certain class
of house dwellers, can hardly be regarded as a beneficial
environment for the average working-class family. As a
housing reform movement, in the strict sense of the phrase,
it is not necessary to ascribe much importance to the work
of the associations. Generally speaking, they have housed
in their block dwellings people who previously lived under
fairly decent conditions, but were attracted by the con-
veniences of flat dwellings or by their nearness to the city
centre. A very small percentage of the people dishoused
by the clearances of the Board of Works was rehoused by
the housing trusts and associations. It has already been
noted that there is a steady movement towards the reserva-
tion of urban centres for the purposes of business : ware-
houses, shops and offices naturally seek the central locality
on account of its accessibility from all points, and, as the
commercial growth of the neighbourhood proceeds, they

VOLUNTARY ENTERPRISE 287

must find space at almost any cost. This brings about the
persistent reduction of the area available for residence,
and the development of barrack dwellings, so largely re-
sorted to by the societies mentioned, has been a deliberate
attempt to evade the natural consequences of the move-
ment. The result is practically overcrowding, not per
room, but per acre of ground surface, an evil of equal, if
not greater, consequence. The modern building reform
legislation of Germany recognizes the necessity of calling
a halt upon such a policy, and efforts are being made in
that country to discourage further building of this type.

Objection has sometimes been taken that philanthropic
housing exerts a pauperising influence upon its actual and
would-be recipients. How far this may be true depends
entirely upon surrounding conditions. It is not easy to
believe that the past policy of English housing associations
of the kind has worked any material mischief in this
direction, for their tenants have hardly felt, in most cases,
at any rate, that they were receiving something for which
they had not paid. I suppose that it would be safe to say
that the rents charged by them have not varied to any
great extent from the usual amounts paid by the class of
people renting their tenements. As a matter of fact, the
central position of these dwellings, utilizing ground of
high annual value, made it unavoidable that the usual
standard of rents, applicable to dwellings of similar con-
veniences but less centrally situated, should involve an act
of charity either upon the part of the associations, or,
presuming that the associations obtained a normal rate of
profit upon the actual capital invested by them, upon the
part of the local authority in conveying to them building
sites at less than the market price (resulting from the
restrictions upon sale imposed by statute law), or upon the
part of both. But, in so far as the tenants failed to realize

288 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

that they were paying for less than they received, just to
that extent was any pauperizing influence absent. It goes
without saying that the future efforts of philanthropy to
participate in the housing of the people should not rely
overmuch upon this " failure to realize." The chief ad-
vantage of the development of philanthropic housing
associations probably lies in the leavening effect their
operations exercise upon the general rent situation. Their
endowments should be used to construct houses of the kind
needed by the poorer classes at amounts sufficient to bring
in a normal return of profit upon the capital invested. By
so doing, they would incur no risk of injuring the self-
reliance of their tenants, and, as the philanthropic basis of
the organisations would obviate the necessity of dividends,
the net income received would be available for continual
building extension, and their houses would constitute an
important element in the total supply. If the rents were
fixed at such figures as to bring in a rate of profit which,
with due regard to risks incurred, might fairly be con-
sidered a normal return, private commercial enterprise
would not be particularly handicapped.

Some statistics have previously been given concerning
the extent of the present operations of the now widely-
known Rowton Houses. There can be no question but
what these lodging-houses have proved a boon to thou-
sands of London working men. A single man, by their
aid, is able to secure decent lodging accommodation, good
food at an extraordinarily low rate, with special advantages
in the way of reading and writing rooms, smoking rooms,
use of books, magazines, etc., penny baths and so forth.
The discipline of the Houses and their general manage-
ment are such as to enable the working man to take ad-
vantage of their facilities without the feeling of moral
degradation that almost inevitably results from resort to

VOLUNTARY ENTERPRISE 289

the ordinary common lodging house. It is possible for a
man to live fairly comfortably in a Rowton House for as
low as eight shillings and sixpence per week and by no
means starve, and, if necessary, he could reduce the cost to
a shilling a day. The Company now operating the Houses
(Rowton Houses, Limited) appears to obtain satisfactory
commercial results. Their last balance sheet for the year
ending 31st December, 1905, shows that, after paying a
dividend on preference shares, the Company was able to
pay 5 per cent, on ordinary shares and to carry forward a
sum of £3,500. It is to be hoped that institutions of this
kind will be established in our large cities in sufficient
number to take care of single men of the labouring class
who might otherwise become the " family lodger," ap-
parently much to the increase of overcrowding. Instead
of a municipality establishing a system of lodging houses
of its own, it would be more desirable, to my way of think-
ing, that it should encourage the formation of private
companies of the Rowton type, and that to this end its
powers should be enlarged to enable it to take stock in
such companies. It would thus give solid encouragement
and yet would not be adding to its present administrative
duties.

The extent to which industrial concerns may be able to
contribute to the amelioration of the housing condition of
the working classes is an interesting problem. The work
done at Bournville by Mr. George Cadbury, at Port Sun-
light by Mr. W. H. Lever, at Noisiel (France) by M.
Menier, at Essen by the Krupps, and at various other
places, is worthy of much more consideration than this
brief chapter can possibly afford. There is a distinction
between the Bournville experiment and the others named
in that the latter have been undertaken solely in the in-
terests of the workpeople in the employment of the firms

290 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

responsible for their development, while Mr. Cadbury
designed that Bournville should accommodate not only his
employes but some of the workpeople of the adjoining city
of Birmingham, and, as a matter of fact, more than half
of the residents are employed outside of Bournville.

In view of the enlightened desire, shown by several
large employers of labour, to improve the working and
social conditions of those labouring for them, and par-
ticularly in view of the fact that influential employers are
declaring that " welfare " work is actually a paying in-
vestment, even from the business standpoint, in that it
improves the physical and mental capacity of the worker
and increases his contentment, there is much reason to
anticipate the spread of the movement. Employers as a
whole cannot be expected to be influenced to any great
degree by an appeal to sentiment, but, if it can be demon-
strated to them that this work " pays," they will not be
slow to enter heartily into the surrounding of their workers
with favourable conditions of work and living. Industries
located in central parts of large cities will not be easily
able to do this, at least not upon the same generous scale
on which it could be done away from such localities, but
the importance of this exception may be lessened by the
extension of the movement of manufacturing establish-
ments into suburban and rural districts.1

A project of late years to which much attention has
been given is that of establishing " garden cities." Since
the formation of the Garden City Association in 1899, an
organization resulting from the activity of Mr. E. Howard,2
the idea of founding new towns, so situated and so planned
as to secure due provision for industrial development as

1. Model Factories and Villages, by Budget! Meakin, gives a number
of interesting details as to various experiments in industrial housing.

2. See his book Garden Cities of To-morrow.

VOLUNTARY ENTERPRISE 291

well as healthy and pleasant residential conditions for all
classes of the community, has been actively discussed. The
Association has not produced, as yet, results definitely
demonstrating the feasibility of its policy, but it has
brought about the incorporation of a Company, the first
Garden City, Limited, which has purchased a site of some
4,000 acres, about 35 miles north of London, and is now
making efforts to attract industries and people thither.
The intention is to build up a town on the central part of
this area, covering some thousand acres, with a capacity
of thirty thousand people, a belt of 3,000 acres encircling
the town proper being retained in perpetuity for agricul-
tural purposes. The land is leased out either under a per-
petual lease, subject to periodical revision, or under the
ordinary ninety-nine years' agreement, each lease contain-
ing restrictions upon the use of the land.

The ideals of the " Garden City " project are admirable.
Nothing could be more desirable than that many of our
urban industries should be ruralized, carrying with them
their workmen, and enabling the latter to work under con-
ditions conducing to health and strength of body and
sanity of mind. I have already noted that this has been
done independently by some large manufacturers.
Obviously, many industrial concerns could not house their
employes in independent villages, but they could co-operate
with others in establishing a rural working community.
There has been, in fact, during the last few years, a move-
ment on the part of several urban industries away from
crowded centres into localities where the pressure of rents
and rates is less severe and the climatic conditions more
favourable to manufacturing.

Fears have been expressed that paternalism would
characterize the government of both industrial villages
and " garden city " communities, working ruin to the self-

292 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

reliance and mental independence of the members of the
same, an evil more serious than any resulting from the
hygienic disadvantages of city life. Candidly, I see little
chance of excluding entirely from industrial villages of
the one-firm type an element of paternalism — it would he
contrary to human nature to presume that it would he
altogether excised. But our present mode of government
introduces a certain amount of paternalism into the every-
day life of the ordinary citizen, and, though this is the
paternalism of government and not of an individual, it
can be quite as mischievous. Under modern economic
and social conditions, it is hardly likely that any attempt
to unduly develop this aspect of the relationship between
employer and employes in industrial villages would meet
with any permanent success — it seems almost certain that
the attempt would sooner or later cause a reaction of
serious import to the controlling firms. It seems reason-
able to suppose that there would be less danger of pater-
nalism in a " Garden City " than in a one-firm " industrial
village." The civic individuality should be more in-
dependent and more developed in the former than in the
latter, where the houses and buildings of the village are
apt to be considered in the same light as the factories and
workshops — part of the instruments of production, — and
where the workpeople, dwelling in the houses of the firm,
walking along its streets, attending divine service in the
firm-built church, public entertainments in the firm hall,
and so forth, are prone to sacrifice that mental independ-
ence which the separating of home life and civic responsi-
bility from the powers controlling the working hours of
life undoubtedly favours to a greater or less extent.

At the same time, the control of the destinies of a fairly
large community by a joint-stock company is a twentieth-
century novelty to which our ideas have not yet become

VOLUNTARY ENTERPRISE 293

adjusted. One hesitates to believe that industrial con-
cerns will be very ready to place themselves under such
conditions until the practical experience of others has
proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that they stand to
gain by a change. In any case, the artificial promotion of
" garden cities " by joint-stock companies is not likely to
revolutionize the industrial condition of this country. It
is to be hoped that success will attend the efforts of the
Association now engaged in this work, but it requires a
very cheerful mind to believe that the present experiment
is merely the precursor of a long chain of specially con-
structed " garden cities " stretching from one end of the
kingdom to the other.

TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES.

Before concluding this chapter, a word or two may be
said concerning the relationship of transportation facilities
to the housing problem. This is the more necessary in
that the emphasis placed upon cheap transit by several
advocates of housing reform indicates their belief that
here is the real solution of the problem. If by problem
is meant the permanent removal of the slumming element
from our cities, then such a belief is far too optimistic.
The price of house space in the central parts of our cities
will necessarily remain high, the growth of population
and the extension of commercial enterprise will ensure
that. At the same time, so long as a class of casual labour
exists, dependent, from day to day, upon the opportunities
of temporary employment always frequent in the business
areas of the towns, there will ever be a demand for house
room in or near such localities. The methods of living of
this body of casual labour, combined with those of the
hopelessly idle, dissipated, and criminal classes, constitute
the crux of the housing problem proper. No improvement

294 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

of transit facilities will induce these people to live out in
the suburbs, no extension or cheapening of suburban ser-
vices is going to remedy the economic or moral conditions
conducing to their overcrowded and disorderly habits of
life. Reliance upon any plan of reform which bases itself
entirely upon suasion and voluntary action will meet with
disappointment.

But, apart from this problem of the present, there is
a housing problem of the future, liable to be regarded as
less pressing than the former, really involving no ques-
tions of municipal landlordism, slum clearances, or such
like, yet of great importance to the welfare of our urban
communities. I refer to the necessity of proper control
being exercised over urban extension so that a balanced
and healthy growth shall be secured. In connection with
this problem, the question of transportation assumes con-
siderable importance, as the due provision of cheap and
frequent suburban transit facilitates the distribution of
the rapidly increasing population of the towns over their
tributary territories. Much has been said about the neglect
of the railways in providing workmen's trains but, in
reality, they have done much to promote the diffusion of
the population of London and many other urban centres
into the surrounding suburbs. The electric tramways and
light railways are going to do still more, and it may be
that the standard railways will have to reconcile them-
selves to the practical loss of the short distance suburban
traffic. There is evident a strong tendency towards the
municipalisation of tramway systems ; a number are already
in the hands of the local authorities, and several are an-
nually turning over large profits in relief of rates. With-
out digressing to discuss the merits or demerits of this
variety of municipal ownership, I may venture to express
my opinion that the municipality, in operating its cars,

VOLUNTARY ENTERPRISE 295

should be satisfied with revenue sufficient to defray opera-
ting expenses and interest charges, and to make reasonable
provision for depreciation and for reserve, the fares being
fixed accordingly. There should be no surplus profit of
any size after the meeting of these expenses and charges.
The fares, as a whole, would be based on cost of service,
therefore, and, in many cases, this would mean a reduc-
tion of the expenses of travel to passengers. At any rate,
if fares were to be kept at their present level, the surplus
should be made use of in increasing service, extending the
tramway network, and so on. Much has been written
upon the propriety of the municipality earning a profit
on its industrial undertakings, but as yet I have not been
relieved of the fear that the application of the profits
of municipal enterprise in relief of rates is a policy most
dangerous to the integrity and true democratic administra-
tion of local government.

297

CHAPTER XVII.

THE RURAL HOUSING PROBLEM IN ENGLAND.
CONCLUSION.

The assignment of but a portion of the concluding
chapter of this part to a discussion of the rural housing
problem does not indicate its relative importance, but
simply the necessary restrictions upon the size of the
volume and the time of the writer. In any case, a great
deal more first-hand investigation in the various rural
districts of England is required before the careful student
will be in a position to establish really reliable conclusions.

From the standpoint of the number of people affected,
rural overcrowding, understanding by that phrase over-
crowding in rural sanitary districts, is considerably less
important than urban, inasmuch as the last census figures
evidence that it affects less than half a million persons and
56,000 houses against the two and a quarter million per-
sons and 335,000 houses of urban overcrowding. Further,
it is less intense than the latter, since appreciably less than
six per cent, of the rural population is overcrowded as
against more than nine per cent, of the urban population.
These figures throw no light upon the prevalence of in-
sanitation, to which reference was made in Chapter III.,
and, perhaps, this is a more serious and widespread evil
than overcrowding. Statements recently made before a
Select Committee of the House of Commons,1 and evidence
accumulated by the Rural Housing and Sanitation Associa-
tion, as well as by private investigators like Mr. Walter

1. 1906 — Select Committee on the Housing of the Working Classes
Acts (Amendment) Bill.

298 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Crotch and Mr. Eider Haggard,2 indicate that the sanitary
conditions of country cottages are frequently most repre-
hensible. Still it would be a very unjustifiable assumption
to conclude that the cases brought before our attention by
the earnest advocates of reform represent general condi-
tions over the country. There are very many rural dis-
tricts in England where serious overcrowding and dangerous
insanitation are practically unknown. The qualifying
adjectives are used because the writer is conservative
enough to believe, from his personal investigation, that a
certain amount of family overcrowding and certain defects
in the construction and arrangement of buildings, so long
as they do not become absolutely objectionable, are to be
counted lightly in summing up any disadvantages incident
to country cottage life. Outdoor occupation with abund-
ance of uncontaminated air makes healthy life possible,
and actually realized, in the scattered villages of the
country side that would be perfectly impossible in urban
localities under similar housing conditions. In many
country cottages with which the writer is acquainted, a
family of eight living in three rooms would have an in-
finitely healthier life than in the typical four room urban
cottage or tenement.

Yet it is not to be denied that, in certain localities and
under certain landlords, grossly defective insanitation and
equally gross overcrowding are allowed to exist in cottages
that thereby become little else than pig-sties. What can
be done to remedy such deplorable conditions?

The ordinary agricultural labourer in the country parish
receives but a small wage (more often than not about 15s.
weekly) and pays but a very small rent (Is. 6d. a week is a

2. W. Crotch : The Cottage, Homes of England. H. Rider Haggard :
Rural England.

RURAL HOUSING IN ENGLAND 299

common amount).1 To keep a house in good repair, to pay
other expenses incident to its possession, and, at the same
time, to secure an appreciable return upon the capital in-
vested in it is almost an unsolvable problem for the land-
lords of these small rent cottages. On such a rent basis,
the profit can work out at but a ridiculous rate per cent,
and, accordingly, the ' land-poor ' and the unconscientious
landlords neglect the condition of their tenants' houses,
putting as little money into their maintenance as possible.
In our open villages, cottages are not infrequently owned
by comparatively poor people who must get as large a
return as possible from them, even at the neglect of keep-
ing them in repair. Under these conditions, serious
dilapidation is likely to result, especially in the older type
of cottages made of lath and plaster or of clay lump.

Where the tenants of insanitary houses realize fully
the hygienic evils to which they are subject through lack
of attention to the premises they occupy, it still requires
an unusual amount of courage to pit themselves against
the ' powers that be/ So that, while our laws are stringent
enough about unhealthy houses and overcrowding, the crux
of the whole matter, effective administration, is lacking.

I see no remedy for this except by allowing the county
council to assume active supervision of the insanitation and
overcrowding of houses within its component rural dis-
tricts, appointing travelling inspectors of health with a
general power of entry into houses where there is good
reason for suspecting improper conditions, and with power
to apply for closing and abatement orders.

A strict application of the law might, in some cases,
cause landlords to close up their cottages rather than to

1. For details, see Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, June 1903.
Paper by C. Wilson Fox on Agricultural Wages in England and Wales
during the last Fifty Years.

300 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

incur the expense necessary to remedy defects, but, in most
cases, the capital irremovably sunk in the property would
assure its being kept open so long as there was any real
demand for it, since any rate of profit is better than none
at all.

In those places in which overcrowding is accentuated in
spite of a low level of rents, it is possible that increased
vigilance of this kind would send up rents somewhat. But
I am not at all sure that, in many cases, the agricultural
labourer could not stand a small increase on such rent as
Is. 6d. a week.1 We are often reminded of the scantiness
of his weekly wage, but, where the weekly wage is low,
the annual extra earnings are all the larger and as much
as an average three or four shillings a week may be added
to the regular wage through hay and corn harvest money
and earnings from piece-work and over-time. Besides,
there are to be taken into consideration the produce of his
garden, his chickens, and a pig or two ; in some cases, even
a cow. Then again, except in their earliest years, inci-
dental revenue is derived from his children as well as,
in numerous instances, from the occasional labour of his
wife in various ways.

The statement is sometimes made that country cottages
have lapsed into dilapidation at so rapid a rate as to more
than offset the migration to the towns,2 leaving overcrowd-

1. I am aware of the fact that there are parts of the country where
house rent in the open villages stands at a much higher figure than this.
This seems to be usually the result of proximity to towns and the con-
sequent admission of some urban competition for the cottages. See
Royal Commission on Labour, 1892 — 94, General Report of Mr. C. W.
Little; also Journal of Royal Statistical Society, vol. Ixvi., part ii.,
p. 306.

2. The 1901 census returns recorded 631,728 male agricultural
labourers (including foremen and bailiffs), being a decrease of 18
per cent, on the number in 1891 and 40 per cent, on the number in 1851.
The rate of migration is certainly not so large as appears from the
18 per cent, of the last censal decade. Many men in 1901 were serving
in the army on account of the Boer war, and especially attractive wages
in several industrial occupations had drawn many from the rural
districts.

RURAL HOUSING IN ENGLAND 301

ing worse than ever. That this is not generally true is
clearly proven by the figures of Table XVIII.,1 where the
percentage of overcrowding is shown to have fallen from
8'46 in 1891 to 5'84 in 1901.2 There may be districts,
however, where the statement holds good and such cases
are very perplexing. One can hardly force landowners to
keep open cottages at a practical loss to themselves. Pre-
sumably, they would not close such cottages if the income
from them were sufficient to defray working expenses. As
this would usually be secured in the case of the ordinary
labourer's cottage by even the low rent paid, the conclusion
is inevitable that in such localities there is some weakness
in the effective house demand. For if it were otherwise,
rent would undoubtedly go up somewhat, sufficient to in-
duce the landlords to keep the cottages in habitable con-
dition. The weak demand, under the conditions named,
can apparently arise from one or both of two sources :
(a) low moral standard, or (b) conditions of abnormal
poverty. In either case, the enforcing of the law is neces-
sary, in the first instance as a punitive measure, in the
second as a means of accurately isolating those cases in
which there is absolutely no hope of anything being done
either by tenants or landlords or by their joint co-operation.
I have assumed that the cottages allowed to fall into
vacancy are repairable. As a matter of fact, about the
middle of the last century it was common for cottage
speculators to put up in the open villages a very crude and
altogether undesirable class of dwelling to meet the
demand of labourers not able to reside on the estates of
their employers. Every pauper was chargeable to his

1. See Chapter III.

2. The percentage for 1901 might have been greater if the abnormal
(temporary) withdrawal of men from the rural districts had not taken
place, but, if so, the increase of the percentage would hardly have been
appreciable.

302 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

parish — it was not till 1865 that the law was altered so as
to throw the charge upon the Union instead of the parish
— and landowners did their best to keep down rates and
prevent settlements by refusing to build cottages on their
estates and by keeping empty or demolishing those already
erected.1 Thus an opportunity was afforded to speculating
builders to make money out of the demand for houses in
the adjacent open villages. An official writer of the period
describes the situation as follows2 : —

" In the open village, cottage speculators buy scraps
of land which they throng as densely as they can with
the cheapest of all possible hovels. And into these
wretched habitations (which, even if they adjoin the
open country, have some of the worst features of the
worst town residences) crowd the agricultural labourers
of England."

Such property as was thus put up may easily and soon
become unrepairable, and, in villages that have suffered in
this way, the situation may well be serious. To substitute
the decayed dwellings in these days of high building costs
and Local Government Board building bye-laws means an
expenditure of probably not less than £350 per pair of
cottages, at which figure to make building a profit and not
a loss, it would require a very large advance on the Is. 6d.
or so a week which the labourer ordinarily pays : a four
per cent, return would necessitate a rent probably not less
than 4s. per week without allowing for vacant periods of
tenancy. In the open village there is not the paternal
supervision of the owner of the estate to rely upon, and
yet, under the conditions described, there can be no pros-

1. See Seventh Report of the Medical Officer of Health of the Privy
Council" 1864, p. 10.

2. Ibid. p. 11.

RURAL HOUSING IN ENGLAND 303

pect of help from private enterprise. It is easy to say,
' Let the local rural authority build houses and rent them
at amounts proportioned to the income of the labourers,'
but such a policy is just as undesirable in the country as
it is in the town. To deal hardly with people living in
violation of the law against overcrowding when they are
in that condition partly by reason of the scheming or
improper action of others is opposed to our feelings, but,
on the other hand, they must be compelled or induced to
abandon their present mode of living. To build 4s. houses
and to let them live in the same at Is. 6d. means relief in
aid of rent and the first insidious steps towards the gilded
pauperization of those who probably are the ones most in
need of the virtues of moral independence and self reliance.
The evil of this is too serious to be regarded lightly. It
would be better for us to pay the emigration expenses of
such people rather than to state-aid or philanthropy-aid
them into the contagious disease of pauperism. I hate to be
driven to the conclusion, especially in view of the already
too large migration from country into town, and yet, as
one interested more in the ultimate and general welfare
of the whole community than in the temporary comfort
of any particular section of that community, I see at
present no alternative to strictly enforcing the provisions
of the sanitary and housing law against both tenants and
landlords, trusting to the normal operation of supply and
demand through their effect upon the wages of agricultural
labour to rectify the shortage of farm help that may thereby
ensue.

So far, however, as the general position of the agri-
cultural labourer stands to-day, there is in it much hope-
fulness, and, in concluding my discussion of this very
interesting and very important rural problem, I wish to
quote in support of this opinion the high authority of Mr.

304 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

A. Wilson Fox, C.B., in an extract from his illuminating
paper upon, " Agricultural Wages in England and Wales
during the last Fifty Years," read before the Eoyal Statis-
tical Society, 21st April, 1903. He points out that, in
1903, farm labourers were better off than in 1850 for the
following reasons : —

"1. Their earnings are greater, due both to higher
payments and more regular employment.

"2. They are, in fact, better off than when they had
the additional assistance of their wives and children,
and they have not to sacrifice the comfort of their homes,
the economy of their household arrangements, and the
education and worldly prospects of their children.

"3. Prices of most of the commodities are cheaper.
Rent in rural districts has hardly risen if at all. The
result is that the labourers and their families have a
greater quantity and a better quality of food than for-
merly. They furnish their cottages better, dress better,
and have money to spend on trips, thus getting their
views and ideas enlarged.

"4. Work is less arduous owing to shorter hours, the
introduction of machinery and to better tools.

"5. There are more opportunities of obtaining allot-
ments.

"6. Education is free.

"7. Sanitary arrangements and water supplies in the
villages are better attended to.

"8. Cottage accommodation, while not dearer, is better,
due both to the superior class of buildings now erected
to replace the old ones, and also to the decrease in the
population in a good many rural villages, which has
tended to reduced over-crowding and to leave the worst
cottages empty."

CONCLUSION 305

In concluding this volume, it may be permissible to re-
empliasize one important point discussed in the essay.
I refer to the great improvement in conditions of over-
crowding in 1901 as compared with those in 1891, and the
fact that municipal activity in house building or in exten-
sive housing clearances played but an insignificant part
in this progress. The record of this period is an uncon-
trovertible demonstration of the effectiveness of even but
a partial application of the housing policy advocated by
the writer, which, it will be remembered, is based upon the
improvement of sanitary supervision. There is too great
readiness to suppose that, in the social economy, the par-
ticipation of the municipality in supplying the material
needs of its members is the only hope of salvation. I re-
peat again the statement previously made that there are
many duties which the municipality can perform well,
and should, the competent execution of which is threatened
by the impossible multitude of responsibilities so lightly
being assumed by our present local authorities. The ap-
proval of the nation is seemingly with them, and especially
in their new role as builders and landlords to the people,
but it is to be feared that the decree of time will evidence,
when it is too late to remedy the evil worked except at
enormous sacrifice, how foolish and expensive the role has
been, and how detrimental to the real interests of the
community whose welfare has been the object desired.1

1. Coming as it does after the completion of my labours upon the
present volume, it has been a matter of much satisfaction to find
how closely my conclusions as to the proper housing policy to be pursued
by local authorities are in harmony with those of a practical ad-
ministrator in one of the most important municipalities of England. I
refer to the pamphlet entitled "A Housing Policy," by Mr. John S.
Nettlefold, Chairman of the Housing Committee of the Birmingham
City Council. I consider Mr. Xettlefold's statement one of the utmost
importance, and it deserves the careful study of every local administra-
tor in the country, based as it is upon the actual experience of a typical
municipality. My residence abroad has caused more than a year's delay
in the book reaching me ; otherwise I should have made free use of its
material in the text.

APPENDIX

309

APPENDIX A.

REPORT UPON THE RELATION BETWEEN THE DEMOLITION OF
HOUSE PROPERTY AND THE LIVING CONDITIONS OF THE
POORER CLASSES IN THE TOWNSHIP OF MANCHESTER.1

POOR LAW OFFICES,

NEW BRIDGE STREET,
Manchester, 28th January, 1903.

To THE MANCHESTER BOARD OF GUARDIANS,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I beg to submit for your perusal the following Report
upon the relation between the demolition of house property
and the living conditions of the poorer classes in the Town-
ship of Manchester.

Demolition of house property on a large scale arises from
three main causes, (1) railway extensions, (2) municipal and
other improvements carried out under local Acts, and. (3)
sanitary reforms under the provisions of Parts I. and II.
of the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890. In each
of these cases the Local Government Board, by virtue of
Parliamentary powers, insist upon the provision of new
housing accommodation to such extent as they deem neces-
sary as a substitute for the working class accommodation
destroyed.

In some cases the new housing accommodation has been
provided in the vicinity in which the demolition has taken
place, but of late the tendency, so far as municipal author-
ities are concerned, has been to act upon the provisions of

1. Taken from the Thirteenth Annual Report of the Relief Depart-
ment of the Township of Manchester, 1903.

310 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

the Housing of the Working Classes Amendment Act, 1900,
which enables these Authorities to acquire land outside
of the area of their own jurisdiction for the purpose of
erecting working men's dwellings.

Unfortunately, the people who become tenants of the
new houses are by no means identical with those dishoused
by the demolitions, the new dwellings provided being
generally seized upon by tenants of a superior class to
those for whom they were intended.

The poorest classes naturally cling to the central areas
of our large towns because they find there their main
opportunities of securing a livelihood, scanty and precar-
ious as it may be. Even if this were not so, very many of
them have little, if any, capability of appreciating the
benefits to be derived from residence in a healthier neigh-
bourhood and in much more convenient dwellings. On
account of these conditions the reduction in the number
of dwellings caused by the demolition of cottage property
in central urban districts, though apparently met by the
erection of suburban dwellings, may cause an increased
pressure upon the housing accommodation of the vicinity
affected, and overcrowding with all its demoralising and
pauperising influences becomes more intense, and the
amount of pauperism in such districts is certainly not
appreciably lessened.

Even when new accommodation is provided in the im-
mediate neighbourhood of the demolished property the
same undesirable conditions are to be observed. No doubt
this is to be ascribed, in part at least, to the fact that the
high value of land added to the cost of building makes low
rents impracticable and, therefore, the poorer classes re-
main huddled together in the slums, while the better class
of artizans and labourers avail themselves of the superior
accommodation provided by the authorities.

APPENDIX A 311

One thing is very apparent in connexion with the house-
hunger within the Township. While the better class arti-
zans and labourers eagerly avail themselves of the superior
accommodation provided by the housing authorities, the
houses vacated by them are frequently transformed into
common lodging houses or fitted up and let as furnished
rooms, three, four, and in some cases more families re-
placing the previous occupiers and thereby often creating
conditions under which decency in its true sense becomes
almost an impossibility.

In the centre of the city, within the limits of the Town-
ship, there is a lucrative trade carried on in furnishing and
sub-letting such tenements, for which in the aggregate
exhorbitant rentals are obtained. Frequently the poor,
the criminal, and the vile are associated together in these
places, many of which are hot beds of disease, social cor-
ruption and pauperism, and a danger and a discredit to
the City.

Under such conditions it is not surprising to find the
statistics of pauperism within the Township apparently
high when compared with other Unions or Parishes more
favourably situated, but it must be remembered that an
increasing percentage on the total population of a given
area may be due not to any increase of poverty but may
be caused by the migration of the non-pauper classes to
districts outside the pauperised area, which is not an un-
common experience in central urban districts. It is gener-
ally the poverty-stricken and shiftless who remain, in-
creasing the percentage of pauperism per head of the
population, and the demolition of houses in pronounced
insanitary areas does not always alleviate the evils com-
plained of.

I am, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Your obedient Servant,

(Signed) JOSEPH DEWSNUP,
Superintendent, Relief Department.

313

APPENDIX B.

SCHEDULE WITH REFERENCE TO DISHOUSIXG UNDER LOCAL
AND SPECIAL ACTS, — 3 ED. VII. c. 39.

(1) If, in the administrative county of London or in any
borough or urban district or in any parish not within a
borough or urban district, the undertakers have power to
take under the enabling Act working men's dwellings
occupied by thirty or more persons belonging to the work-
ing class, the undertakers shall not enter on any such
dwellings in that county, borough, urban district or parish,
until the Local Government Board have either approved
of a housing scheme under this schedule or have decided
that such scheme is not necessary.

For the purposes of this schedule a house shall be con-
sidered a working-man's dwelling if wholly or partially
occupied by a person belonging to the working classes;
and for the purpose of determining whether a house is a
working-man's dwelling or not, and also for determining
the number of persons belonging to the working classes by
whom any dwelling houses are occupied, any occupation
on or after the fifteenth day of December next before the
passing of the enabling Act, or, in the case of land acquired
compulsorily under a general Act without the authority of
an order, next before the date of the application to the
Local Government Board under this schedule, for their
approval of or decision with respect to a housing scheme,
shall be taken into consideration.

(2) The housing scheme shall make provision for the
accommodation of such number of persons of the working
class as is, in the opinion of the Local Government Board,

314 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

taking into account all the circumstances, required, but
that numher shall not exceed the aggregate number of
persons of the working class displaced ; and in calculating
that number the Local Government Board shall take into
consideration not only the persons of the working class who
are occupying the working-men's dwellings which the un-
dertakers have power to take, but also any persons of the
working class who, in the opinion of the Local Government
Board, have been displaced within the previous five years
in view of the acquisition of land by the undertakers.

(3) Provision may be made by the housing scheme for
giving undertakers, who are a local authority or who have
not sufficient powers for the purpose, power for the purpose
of the scheme to appropriate land or to acquire land, either
by agreement or compulsorily under the authority of a
Provisional Order, and for giving any local authority
power to erect dwellings on land so appropriated or ac-
quired by them, and to sell or dispose of any such dwell-
ings, and to raise money for the purpose of the scheme as
for the purposes of Part III. of the principal Act, and for
regulating the application of any money arising from the
sale or disposal of the dwellings; and any provisions so
made shall have effect as if they had been enacted in an
Act of Parliament.

(4) The housing scheme shall provide that any lands
acquired under that scheme shall, for a period of twenty-
five years from the date of the scheme, be appropriated
for the purpose of dwellings for persons of the working
class, except in so far as the Local Government Board
dispense with that appropriation; and every conveyance,
demise or lease of any such land shall be endorsed with
notice of this provision, and the Local Government Board
may require the insertion in the scheme of any provisions
requiring a certain standard of dwelling-house to be erected

APPENDIX B 315

under the scheme, or any conditions to be complied with
as to the mode in which the dwelling-houses are to be
erected.

(5) If the Local Government Board do not hold a local
inquiry with reference to a housing scheme, they shall,
before approving the scheme, send a copy of the draft
scheme to every local authority, and shall consider any
representation made within the time fixed by the Board
by any such authority.

(6) The Local Government Board may, as a condition of
their approval of a housing scheme, require that the new
dwellings under the scheme or some part of them, shall
be completed and fit for occupation before possession is
taken of any working men's dwellings under the enabling
Act.

(7) Before approving any scheme the Local Government
Board may, if they think fit, require the undertakers to
give such security as the Board consider proper for carry-
ing the scheme into effect.

(8) The Local Government Board may hold such in-
quiries as they think fit for the purpose of their duties
under this schedule, and subsections one and five of section
eighty-seven of the Local Government Board Act, 1888
(which relate to local inquiries), shall apply for the pur-
pose and, where the undertakers are not a local authority,
shall be applicable as if they were such an authority.

(9) If the undertakers enter upon any working-men's
dwelling in contravention of the provisions of this schedule?
or of any conditions of approval of the housing scheme
made by the Local Government Board, they shall be liable
to a penalty not exceeding five hundred pounds in respect
of every such dwelling.

Any such penalty shall be recoverable by the Local
Government Board, by action in the High Court, and shall
be carried to and form part of the Consolidated Fund.

3i6 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

(10) If the undertakers fail to carry out any provision
of the housing scheme, the Local Government Board may
make such order as they think necessary or proper for the
purpose of compelling them to carry out that provision,
and any such order may be enforced by vnandamus.

(11) The Local Government Board may, on the applica-
tion of the undertakers, modify any housing scheme which
has been approved by them under this schedule, and any
modifications so made shall take effect as part of the
scheme.

(12) For the purposes of this schedule —

(a) The expression "undertakers" means any autho-
rity, company, or person who are acquiring land com-
pulsorily or by agreement under any local Act or Pro-
visional Order or order having the effect of an Act, or
are acquiring land compulsorily under any general Act.

(b) The expression "enabling Act" means any Act
of Parliament or Order under which the land is acquired.

(c) The expression "local authority" means the council
of any administrative county and the district council
of any county district, or, in London, the council of any
Metropolitan borough, in which in any case any houses
in respect of which the re-housing scheme is made are
situated, or, in the case of the city, the common council.

(d) The expression " dwelling " or " house " means
any house or part of a house occupied as a separate
dwelling.

(e) The expression " working classes " includes mech-
anics, artizans, labourers, and others working for wages ;
hawkers, costermongers, persons not working for wages,
but working at same trade or handicraft without em-
ploying others, except members of their own family, and
persons other than domestic servants whose income in
any case does not exceed an average of thirty shillings
a week, and the families of any of such persons who may
be residing with them.

317

REFERENCE LIST.

The appended working list of books and reports which
the author found of more or less use to him in preparing
this volume may be useful to the student; it does not
attempt to be exhaustive.

Census Returns of England and Wales, particularly those
of 1891—1901.

Public Statutes, as indicated in the text of this volume.

Hansard's Parliamentary Debates for the years in which
housing legislation was passed.

Annual Reports of the Local Government Board.
Annual Reports of the Public Works Loan Board.

Report of Select Committee on the Housing of the Work-
ing Classes, 1881—82.

Report of the Royal Commission on the Housing of the
Working "Classes, 1885.

Report of Joint Select Committee on the Housing of the
Working Classes, 1902.

Report of the Royal Commission on Labour, 1892 — 94.
Report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture, 1893 — 97.

Report of the Select Committee on Repayment of Loans,
1902.

Report of the Royal Commission on London Traffic, 1905.

Parliamentary Paper. " Reproductive Municipal Works"
—(to March 31st, 1902)— issued by the Local
Government Board, 1903.

Evidence and Report of the Glasgow Municipal Commis-
sion on the Housing of the Poor, 1904.

Report on Housing and Industrial Conditions and Medical
Inspection of School Children in Dundee — Dun-
dee Social Union, 1905.

Report of the Sanitary Committee of the Manchester
Corporation upon the Housing of the Working
Classes.

3i8 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Report of the Deputation of the Housing Committee,
Liverpool 1901.

Report to the Manchester Diocesan Conference of 1902,
of the Committee appointed to consider the Ques-
tion of the Housing of the Poor, 1902.

Report of Conference on the Housing of the People, held
at the National Liberal Club, April 30th, 1890.

Report of Conference on Rural Housing, held at Sion
College, London, under the auspices of the
National Union of Women Workers in Great
Britain and Ireland. Pamphlet.

Municipal Year Book. Annual Returns of Work done
under the Housing Act of 1890.

London City Council. Annual Statistical Reports of its
work under the Housing Act of 1890.

Annual Reports of the Housing Trusts, Associations, and
Companies mentioned, in the text.

Proceedings of the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow

(1) Discussion on ' Housing Problems,' March, 1902.

(2) J. Mann : ' Better Houses for the Poor , : Will

they pay? December, 1898.

Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, London :

(1) J. F. J. Sykes : Results of State, Municipal and

Organized Private Action on the Housing of the
Working Classes in London and in other large
cities of the United Kingdom. June, 1901.

(2) A. Wilson Fox : Agricultural Wages in England

during the last Fifty Years. June, 1903.

(3) Sir H. H. Fowler : Municipal Finance and Muni-

cipal Enterprise. September, 1900.

(4) Lord Avebury : The Growth of Municipal and

National Expenditure. March, 1900.

(5) R. J. Thompson : Local Indebtedness in England

and Wales. September, 1904.

The Economic Journal : Numerous articles, notes, and
reviews upon housing, municipalisation, and rate-
incidence questions.

Municipal Affairs : Particularly Vol. 6, 1902.

REFERENCE LIST 319

Co-operative Annual, 1886 : Housing of the Working
Classes.

Report of the 35th Annual Co-operative Congress, 1903,
Co-operative Housing Returns.

C. E. Allan : The Housing of the Working Classes Acts,
1890—1900. 1901.

C. Booth : Pamphlet on the Housing Question in Man-
chester. 1904.

C. Booth : Life and Labour of the People. 1892—1902.
E. Bowmaker : Housing o.f the Working Classes. 1895.
R. M. Brown : Report on Housing in Nottingham.

H. Lemmoin-Cannon : The Sanitary Inspector's Guide.
1902.

W. Crotch : The Cottage Homes of England. 2nd edition,
1901.

J. Corbett : Rehousing of Central London, 1886.
L. Darwin : Municipal grading. 1903.

D. H. Davies : Cost of Municipal Trading.

E. R. L. Gould: The Housing of the Working People.

1895. (Eighth Special Report of the Commis-
sioner of Labour, U.S.A.).

H. Rider Haggard : Rural England. 1902.

T. C. Horsfall : The Example of Germany. 1904.

J .M. Knight : The Growth and Incidence of Municipal
Expenditure. Co-operative Annual, 1905.

C. M. Knowles : The Housing Problem in Towns. Co-
operative Annual, 1901.

F. W. Lawrence : The Housing Problem. ' Heart of the

Empire,' 1901.

T. M. Lupton: House Improvement: A Summary of Ten
Years' Work in Leeds. 1906.

T. R. Marr : Housing Conditions in Manchester and Sal-
ford (Report of Citizens' Association), 1904.

A. MacMorran: The Public Health Acts,, 1888—1890,

including the Housing of the Working Classes
Act, 1890. 1891.

B. Meakin : Model Factories and Villages. 1905.

320 THE HOUSING PROBLEM

F. H. Millington : The Housing of the Poor. 1891.

Sir Shirley F. Murphy : Presidential Address before the

Jubilee Meeting of the Incorporated Society of

Medical Officers of Health, 1906.

J. S. Nettlef old : A Housing Policy. 1905. (Gives details

of work done in Birmingham).
E. Neville : Garden Cities. 1904. Pamphlet.
J. Parsons : Housing by Voluntary Enterprise. 1903.
C. Y. Poore : Rural Hygiene.
B. S. Rowntree: Poverty. 1901.

B. Shaw : The Common Sense of Municipal Trading, 1904.

William Smart : The Housing Problem and the Muni-
cipality. Pamphlet, 1902.

Barry and Gordon Smith : Back to Back Dwellings. Re-
port for the Local Government Board, 1888.

C. T. Stewart : The Housing Question in London, 1855 —

1900. 1901. (Official Account of the housing
operations of the London County Council).

J. F. J. Sykes : Public Health and Housing. Milroy
Lectures, 1901.

J. Tatham : Back to Back Dwellings. Reports to the
Manchester Corporation, 1891 and 1892.

W. Thompson : The Housing Handbook. 1903.
T. L. Worthington : Dwellings of the Poor. 1893.

In studying the relationship between the housing prob-
lem and the incidence of local taxation, the following books
may be profitably consulted.

C. P. Bastable: Public Finance. 3rd Edition. 1903.
A. Billson : Taxation of Land Yalues. Co-operative Annual,

1899.

G. H. Blunden : Local Taxation and Finance.
H. H. Fowler: Report on Local Taxation, 1893.
A. Wilson Fox : The Rating of Land Yalues. 1906.

REFERENCE LIST 321

G. T. Goschen: Local Taxation. 1870.

G. Howell : Local Government and Taxation. Co-operative

Annual, 1897.

J. S. Nicholson: Principles of Political Economy. Yol.3.
R. H. J". Palgrave : Local Taxation of Great Britain and

Ireland.
P. J. Roland Phillips : Local Taxation in England and

Wales. 1882.
C. T. Rhodes: Taxation of Land Values. Pamphlet.

Halifax, 1900.
L. W. Sargent : Urban Rating. 1890.

E. R. A. Seligman : The Shifting and Incidence of Taxa-
tion. 1892.
E. R. A. Seligman : Essays in Taxation.

W. J. Williams : Some recent Modifications of our Rating
System. Co-operative Annual, 1899.

W. Zimmerman : Taxation of Land Values, 1905.

Co-operative Annual, 1899 : Rating.

Report of the Select Committee on Town Holdings. 1892.

Report of the Select Committee (House of Lords) on Town
Improvements (Betterment), 1894.

Report of Royal Commission on Local Taxation, 1901.

INDEX

Adam Smith, on " functions of
government," 213.

Agriculture, decline of, 9 ; pre-
sent depression in, 31.

Aliens, immigration of, its
effects, 17.

"Artizans" Dwellings Acts," evil
effects of, 58.

" Betterment " Problem, 159—

161.

Block Dwellings, 231, 232, 255.
Bournville, 289, 290.
Building Clubs, work of, 196,

197, 282—285.
Building Extension, character of,

in England, 273, 277; in

Germany, 274—277; difficulties

in municipal, 278.

Cairnes, on doctrine of " laissez-
faire," 215.

Cellar dwellings, 28, 116.

Census Returns, value of, 45, 46,
70.

" Common Lodging House Act "
of 1851, 92.

Co-operative Societies, housing
work of, 189—191, 281—285.

County Councils, organisation of,
104; connection with the
Housing Question, 104, 105,
299.

" Cross Acts." "Artizans' and
Labourers' Dwellings Improve-
ment Act" of 1875, 96, 97,
127—129; Amendment of 1879,
97, 129, 149; Amendment of
1882, 99, 116, 121, 124, 125,
130—132, 147, 149, 150, 160;
statistics of work done under,
151—153, 227.

Death Rate, effect of over-
crowding on, 26 ; in back-to-
back houses, 29.

Dishousing, under local and
special acts, 313.

Domestic System of Manufacture,
10, 11, 14.

Baling Tenants Limited, 284, 285.

Factory System, beginnings of,
13; effects on labour, 14 — 17;
effects on overcrowding, 54.

Garden City Association, 281,

290, 291, 292, 293.
Germany, building extension in,

258, 274—277.
Glasgow, Municipal Commission,

report on housing, 245, 250,

251, 256.

Hill, Miss Octavia, efforts for
housing reform, 169 ; on
degeneracy of slum popula-
tions, 225.

Horsfall, "The Example of
Germany," 257.

Housing conditions in 18th cen-
tury, 11, 12; after the In-
dustrial Revolution, 14, 16 ;
effects of municipal activity on,
18, 19; effects of railway im-
provements on, 19 — 22 ; effects
of building improvements on,
24; evils of, in rural districts,
30 — 33; three evils in, 35 (see
sanitation, over-housing, and
over-crowding) ; improvement

326

INDEX

in, between 1891 and 1901, 80;
causes of improvement in,
80 — 83; commission of 1884 to
inquire into, 99.

Housing Legislation, policy of,
88 ; between 1851 and 1903, 89,
90; history of, 91—136 (see
separate acts) ; utilisation of,
137 — 144 ; principles underlying,
211.

Housing Act of 1885, 100—103,
122, 132, 133, 202.

" Housing of the Working
Classes Act" of 1890, effects
of, 82; character of, 103 — 106,
123; amendment of, in 1900,
106, 107; provisions of, 123—
127, 133, 158, 160; work done
under, in provincial towns,
170 — 188; loans made under,
195, 198—201, 222, 227, 235,
254, 256, 282.

" Housing of the Working
Classes Act" of 1903, 126, 133
—136, 157.

Industrial Revolution, The, 3, 9.

Industrial villages, 289, 290, 291,
292, 293.

Infant mortality, effects of over-
crowding on, 25.

" Labouring Classes Lodging

Houses Act" of 1851, 91, 92,

93, 95 ; repeal of clauses of, in

1885, 100; ineffectiveness of,

138, 140.
"Labourers' Dwellings Act" of

1855, 93, 94.
" Labouring Classes Dwelling

Houses Act" of 1866, 94, 139,

140.
Laissez-faire, school of, views

on housing reform, 213.
Land, unearned increment from,

261, 262; rating of, 263—272.
Leeds, back-to-back houses in,

29 ; over-crowding in, 53.
Liverpool, over-crowding in, 44,

53, 62; 139; Gildart's Gardens

dwellings, 230 ; clinker-built

houses in, 255.

London, housing in, 12; aliens
in, 17 ; infant mortality in, 25 ;
death-rate of, 26 ; "exhaustion"
among working population, 27 ;
migration to suburbs of, 36,
37; increase in density of
population of, 42, 61 ; exemp-
tion from " Public Health
Act," 114; 139; report of com-
mittee of County Council of,
in 1900, 155—161 ; Housing
work of County Council of,
163 — 165 ; housing work of
philanthropic societies in, 165
— 170 ; slum demolition in, 227,
228 ; incidence of rates in, 269.

" London Government Act " of
1890, 112.

Manchester, aliens in 17; back-
to-back houses in, 29 ; over-
crowding in, 44, 62 ; applica-
tion of Torrens Act in, 143,
154 ; School of Economists,
215 ; dishousing by corporation
of, 250 ; Citizens' Corporation,
its attitude towards municipal
housing policy, 254 ; 278 ; Re-
port on demolition of house
property in, 309 — 311.

Mill, J. S., on functions of
government, 213, 214.

"Municipal Act" of 1882, 99,
141.

Municipilisation of house-building,
239 ; arguments against com-
plete, 240—249; methods of,
250; advocacy of partial, 253;
in Germany, 258.

of land, 260, 261.

of tramway systems, 294.

Newcastle - upon - Tyne, over-
crowding in, 44, 52, 53, 62.

Overcrowding, evils of, 45 ;
statistics of, in urban districts,
45 — 54 ; causes of, in towns,
54—59, 65; statistics of, in
London, 60, 61; statistics of,

INDEX

327

in various classes of tenements,
62 — 65 ; comparison of statis-
tics of, for years 1891 and
1901, 66 — 69; variations in
rural, 70 ; statistics of, in rural
districts, 72 — 76 ; diminution
of, in all districts, 78, 80, 305 ;
and "Nuisance Removal Acts,"
115 ; as dealt with under "Cross
Acts," 148, 149; often limited
to a small minority of popula-
tion, 222; rural, 297, 298.
Overhousing, difficulties in, cure
of, 39; statistics of, 41 — 44;
231, 287.

Philanthropic Associations, hous-
ing work of, 165 — 169, 285 —
290.

Phthisis, effects of overcrowding
on, 26, 27.

Plvmouth, overcrowding in, 42,
62.

Poor Law, effects of the old, 15,
242.

Population of England and
Wales in 1750 and 1901, 3;
its trend to urban centres, 4,
6, 9, 13; increase of, with
Factory system, 15, 54.

"Public Health Act" of 1875,
108, 114, 126, 134.

" Public Works Loans Act " of
1879, 98, 111, 139.

Public Works Loan Fund, 91,
93, 94, 97, 98, 109, 111, 134,
139, 195, 202—207, 282, 284.

Rehousing, local character of

problem, 251.
Rowton Houses in London, 168,

288, 289.
Rural Districts, housing problem

in, 297—304.

Sanitation, before the Industrial
Revolution, 11 ; effect on labour
market, 16 ; insufficiency of, in
houses of the poor, 24, 25 ;
recent improvement in London,
27; insufficiency of, in rural
districts, 30, 31, 297; recent
improvement in, 81 ; connection

with housing legislation, 88 ;
legislation on, 113 — 117; pro-
gress in, from 1855—1885, 137 ;
necessity and nature of muni-
cipal action in, 217 — 226.

Sanitary Legislation ."Nuisances
Removal Act" of 1855, 113,
114; "Nuisances Amendment
Act" of 1860, 114; "Sanitary
Act" of 1866, 114, 115, 116;
" Sanitary Laws Amendment-
Act" of 1874, 114; Act of
1875 (consolidating), 116, 117.

Shaftesbury, Lord, and housing
legislation, 91, 92, 138, 242.

Slums, rents in, 221 ; clearance,
227—238; causes of failure in
clearances, 229 ; demolition,
distinctions in kind, 233.

" Small Dwellings Acquisition
Act" of 1899, 106, 109—111,
work done under, 192, 193;
257.

Socialists, views on bousing re-
form, 213; leaning of local
authorities to, 214.

Societies for improvement of
housing conditions, list of,
141.

Spencer, Herbert, on functions
of government, 214.

Taxation, and housing reform,
263, 266, 270; Royal Commis-
sion on Local, 265; incidence
of, 269.

"Torrens Act" of 1868, 96, 97,
118, 127, 141; Amendment of
1879, 97, 98, 120, 143, 149;
Amendment of 1882, 99, 121,
122, 130—132, 143, 145, 146,
147, 150.

Transportation Facilities, and the
housing problem, 293 — 295.

West Ham, overcrowding in, 42 ;

application of "Torrens Act"

in, 143.
"Working Men's Dwelling Act"

of 1874, 96; re-enactment of,

in 1882, 99, 141.
"Working Class Dwellings Act"

of 1890, 112.

SHERRATT AND HUGHES

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS.

MEDICAL SERIES. No. 1.

No. I. SKETCHES OF THE LIVES AND WORK OF THE
HONORARY MEDICAL STAFF OF THE ROYAL INFIRMARY.
From its foundation in 1752 to 1830, when it became the Royal
Infirmary. By EDWARD MANSFIELD BROCKBANK, M.D., M.R.C.P.
Crown 4to (illustrated). 15s. net.

"Dr. Brockbank's is a book of varied interest. It also deserves a
welcome as one of the earliest of the 'Publications of the University of
Manchester.' " — Manchester Guardian.

"We have a valuable contribution to local Medical Literature." —

Daily Dispatch.

MEDICAL SERIES. No. 2.

No. II. PRACTICAL PRESCRIBING AND DISPENSING. For
Medical Students. By WILLIAM KIRKBY, sometime Lecturer in
Pharmacognosy in the Owens College, Manchester. Crown 8vo,
220 pp. Second edition. 5s. net.

"The whole of the matter bears the impress of that technical skill
and thoroughness with which Mr. Kirkby's name must invariably be
associated, and the book must be welcomed as one of the most useful
recent additions to the working library of prescribers and dispensers." —

Pharmaceutical Journal.

"Thoroughly practical text-books on the subject are so rare that we
welcome with pleasure Mr. William Kirkby's 'Practical Prescribing and
Dispensing.' The book is written by a pharmacist expressly for medical
students, and the author has been most happy in conceiving its scope
and arrangement." — British Medical Journal.

"The work appears to be peculiarly free from blemishes and particularly
full in practical detail. It is manifestly the work of one who is a skilled
chemist, and an expert pharmacist, and who knows not only the re-
quirements of the modern student but the best way in which his needs
may be met." — Medical Press.

"This is a very sensible and useful manual." — The Hospital.

"The book will be found very useful to any students during a course
of practical dispensing." — St. Bartholomew's Hospital Journal.
"The book is a model, being tutorial from beginning to end." —

The Chemist and Druggist.
"A very useful little book." — Practitioner.

34 CROSS STKEET, MANCHESTER

SHERRATT AND HUfiHES

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS-"^"^

HISTORICAL SERIES. No. 1.

No. III. MEDIAEVAL MANCHESTER AND THE BEGINNING
OF LANCASHIRE. By JAMES TAIT, M.A., Professor of Ancient
and Mediaeval History. Demy 8vo, 240 pp. 7s. 6d. net.
"Patient and enlightened scholarship and a sense of style and pro-
portion have enabled the writer to produce a work at once solid and
readable." — English Historical Review.

"A welcome addition to the literature of English local history, not
merely because it adds much to our knowledge of Manchester and
Lancashire, but also because it displays a scientific method of treatment
which is rare in this field of study in England." — Dr. Gross in American
Historical Review.

"La collection ne pouvait debuter plus significativement et plus heure-
usement que par un ouvrage d'histoire du Moyen Age du a M. Tait, car
1'enseignement medieviste est un de ceux qui font le plus d'honneur a
la jeune Universite de Manchester, et c'est a M. le Professeur Tait qu'il
faut attribuer une bonne part de ce succes." — Revue de Synthese
historique-

"The two essays are models of their kind." — Manchester Guardian.

ECONOMIC SERIES. No. 1.

No. IV. THE LANCASHIRE COTTON INDUSTRY. By S. J.
CHAPMAN, M.A., M. Com. Jevons Professor of Political Economy
and Dean of the Faculty of Commerce. 7s. 6d. net. Demy 8vo.

" Such a book as this ought to be, and will be, read far beyond the
bounds of the trade." — Manchester Guardian.

" There have been books dealing with various phases of the subject,
but no other has so ably breathed it from the economic as well as from the
historical point of view." — Manchester Courier.

"The story of the evolution of the industry from small and insignificant
beginnings up to its present imposing proportions and lightly developed
and specialised forms, is told in a way to rivet the attention of the

reader the book is a valuable and instructive treatise on a

fascinating yet important subject." — Cotton Factory Times.

" Highly valuable to all close students." — Scotsman.

HISTORICAL SERIES. No. 2.

No. V. INITIA OPERUM LATINORUM QUAE SAECULIS XIII.,
XIV., XV. ATTRIBUUNTUR. By A. G. LITTLE, M.A., Lecturer
in Palaeography. Demy 8vo, 300 pp. (interleaved). 15s. net.

MEDICAL SERIES. No. 3.

No. VI. HANDBOOK OF SURGICAL ANATOMY. By G. A.
WRIGHT, B.A., M.B. (Oxon.), F.R.C.S., and C. H. PRESTON, M.D.,
F.R.C.S., L.D.S. Crown 8vo, 214 pp. Second edition. 5s. net.
"We can heartily recommend the volume to students, and especially to
those preparing for a final examination in surgery." — Hospital.

"Dr. Wright and Dr. Preston have produced a concise and very
readable little handbook of surgical applied anatomy. . . . The subject
matter of the book is well arranged and the marginal notes in bold type
facilitate reference to any desired point." — Lancet.

34 CROSS STREET, MANCHESTER

SHERRATT AND HUGHES

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS-^™^.

HISTORICAL SERIES. No. 3.

No. VII. THE OLD COLONIAL SYSTEM. By GERALD BERKELEY
HRRTZ, M.A., B.C.L. Demy 8vo, 232 pp. 5s. net.

"Mr. Hertz gives us an elaborate historical study of the old colonial
system, which disappeared with the American Revolution .... He
shows a remarkable knowledge of contemporary literature, and his book
may claim to be a true history of popular opinion." — Spectator.

"Mr. Hertz's book is one which no student of imperial developments can
neglect. It is lucid, fair, thorough, and convincing." — Glasgow Herald

"Mr. Hertz's 'Old Colonial System' is based on a careful study of
contemporary documents, with the result that several points of no small
importance are put in a new light .... it is careful, honest work . . .
The story which he tells has its lesson for us." — The Times.

"Both the ordinary reader and the academic mind will get benefit fror-i
this well-informed and well-written book." — Scotsman.

ECONOMIC SERIES. No. 2. (GARTSIDE REPORT, No. 1.)
No. VIII. AN EXAMINATION OF THE COTTON INDUSTRY
IN THE UNITED STATES. By T. W. UTTLEY, B.A. Demy 8vo.
Is. net.

"Mr. Uttley is to be congratulated on the performance of a not al-
together easy task, and his book, in conception and execution, appears
to fulfil admirably the intentions of the Trust." — Manchester Courier.

"The writer gives ample details concerning wages and other features
connected with typical mills . . . and the information thus gathered is
of interest and value to the factory operative as well as the student and
economist." — Cotton Factory Times

"Mr. Uttley describes how he visited the mills in various States in a
very systematic and detailed manner. Altogether the report makes an
admirable and welcome collection of information, and will be found on
many occasions worthy of reference." — Textile Mercury.

THEOLOGICAL SERIES. No. 1.

No. IX. INAUGURAL LECTURES delivered during the Session
1904-5, by the Professors and Lecturers of the Faculty of Theology,
viz. : —

Prof. T. F. Tout, M.A. ; Prof. A. S. Peake, B.D. ; Prof. H. W.
Hogg, M.A. ; Prof. T. W. Rhys Davids, LL.D. ; Rev. W. F.
Adeney, D.D. ; Rev. A. Gordon, M.A. ; Rev. L. Hasse; Rev. Canon
E. L. Hicks, M.A. ; R«v. H. D. Lockett, M.A. ; Rev. R. Mackintosh.
D.D. ; Rev. J. T. Marshall. D.D. ; Rev. J. H. Moulton, D.Litt.
Edited by A. S. PEAKE, B.D., Dean of the Faculty.
Demy 8vo, 300 pages. 7s. 6d. net.

"The lectures, while scholarly, are at the same time popular, and will
be found interesting and instructive by those who are not theologians.

60 CHANDOS STREET, LONDON W.C.

SHERUATT AND HUGHES

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS-^^

PRESS NOTICES (Inaugural Lectures) — Continued,

. . . The entire series is excellent, and the volume deserves a wide
circulation. " — Scotsman.

"This is a very welcome volume . . . All these lectures were delivered
to popular audiences, yet they are far from superficial, and will be
found of great value to busy pastors and teachers." — Christian World.
"We welcome the volume as a most auspicious sign of the times. "-

Spectator.

'The lectures themselves give a valuable conspectus of the present
position of Theological research . . . They are, of course, not addressed
to experts, but they are exceedingly valuable, even when allowance is
made for their more or less popular form." — Examiner.

"The whole volume forms a very important and valuable contribution
to the cause of Theological learning." — Record.

"This is a most interesting and valuable book, the appearance of which
at the present moment is singularly significant. . . . But it is impossible
in a brief review to indicate all the treasures of this rich volume, to
read which carefully is to be introduced to the varied wealth of modern
Biblical scholarship. " — Baptist.
"This volume is of the most exceptional value and interest." —

Expository Times.
"This is a book of more than common interest." —

Review of Theology and Philosophy.

"The writers of these lectures do not attempt to offer more than
samples of their wares : but what is given is good, and it may be seen
that theology without tests is destitute neither of scientific value nor of
human interest." — Athenceum.

ANATOMICAL SERIES. No. 1.

No. X. STUDIES IN ANATOMY from the Anatomical Department
of the University of Manchester. Vol. iii. Edited by ALFRED H.
YOUNG, M.B. (Edin.), F.R.C.S., Professor of Anatomy. Demy 8vo,
320 pp., 24 Plates. 10s. net.

MEDICAL SERIES. No. 4.

No. XI. A COURSE OF INSTRUCTION IN OPERATIVE
SURGERY in the University of Manchester. By WILLIAM
THORBURN, M.D., B.S. (Lond.), F.R.C.S., Lecturer in Operative
Surgery. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. net.

"This little book gives the junior student all that he wants, and no-
thing that he does not want. Its size is handy, and altogether for its
purpose it is excellent." — University Review.

"As a working guide it is excellent." — Edinburgh Medical Journal.

PUBLIC HEALTH SERIES. No. 1.

No. XII. ARCHIVES OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER. Edited by
A. SHERIDAN DELEPINE, M.Sc., M.B., Ch.M. Crown 4to, 450 pp.
£1. Is. net.

"The University of Manchester has taken the important and highly
commendable step of commencing the publication of the archives of its

34 GROSS STREET, MANCHESTER

SUEHRATT AND HUGHES

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS—™'""^

Public Health Laboratory, and has issued, under the able and judicious
editorship of Professor Sheridan Delepine, the first volume of a series
that promises to be of no small interest and value alike to members of
the medical profession and to those of the laity . . . Original communica-
tions bearing upon diseases which are prevalent in the districts sur-
rounding Manchester, or dealing with food- and water-supplies, air,
disposal of refuse, sterilisation and disinfection and kindred subjects,
will be published in future volumes ; and it is manifest that these, as
they successively appear, will form a constantly increasing body of trust-
worthy information upon subjects which are not only of the highest
interest to the profession but of supreme importance to the public." —

The Lancet.

"It is safe to say that as these volumes accumulate they will form
one of the most important works of reference on questions of public
health, and ought, at all events, to be in the library of every public
authority." — Manchester Guardian.

"The volume .... speaks well for the activity of investigation in
Manchester." — Lancet.

PHYSICAL SERIES. No. 1.

No. XIII. THE PHYSICAL LABORATORIES OF THE UNIVER-
SITY OF MANCHESTER. A record of 25 years' work. Demy 8vo,
160 pp, 10 Plates, 4 Plans. 5s. net.

This volume contains an illustrated description of the Physical,
Electrical Engineering, and Electro-Chemistry Laboratories of the
Manchester University, also a complete Biographical and Biblio-
graphical Record of those who have worked in the Physics Depart-
ment of the University during the past 25 years.

MEDICAL SERIES. No. 5.

No. XIV. A HANDBOOK OF LEGAL MEDICINE. By W. SELLERS,
M.D. (London), of the Middle Temple and Northern Circuit,
Barrister-at-law. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d. net.

"This is quite one of the best books of the kind we have come
across." — Law Times.

MEDICAL SERIES. No. 6.

No. XV. A CATALOGUE OF THE PATHOLOGICAL MUSEUM
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER. Edited by J.
LORRAIN SMITH, M.A., M.D. (Edin.), Professor of Pathology.
Crown 4to, 1260 pp. 7s. 6d. net.

60 CHANDOS STRFET, LONDON W.C,

SHERRATT AND HUGHES

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS -

HISTORICAL SERIES. No. 4.

No. XVI. STUDIES OF ROMAN IMPERIALISM. By W. T.
ARNOLD, M.A. Edited by EDWARD FIDDES, M.A., with Memoir
of the Author by Mrs. HUMPHREY WARD and C. E. MONTAGUE.
With a Photograuve of W. T. Arnold. Demy 8vo, 400 pp. 7s. 6d.
net.

"Mrs. Humphry Ward has used all her delicate and subtle art to
draw a picture of her beloved brother ; and his friend Mr. Montague's
account of his middle life is also remarkable for its literary excel-
lence."— AthencBum.

"The memoir tenderly and skilfully written by

the ' sister and friend,' tells a story, which well deserved to be told, of
a life rich in aspirations, interests, and friendships, and not without its
measure of actual achievement." — Tribune.

" Readers of this fragment will note the writer's generally facile style,
his large grasp in detail, his preference for the study of historical
matters as illustrative of the progress of communities rather than as
records of individual character and achievement ; and will understand the
loss to literature of a mind capable of such zealous, honourable, and
determined effort." — Globe.

" This geographical sense and his feeling for politics give colour to all
he wrote." — Times.

" The singularly interesting literary monument which in the introduc-
tion to this volume has been raised to the memory of the late William
Arnold by the affection of his distinguished sister, and by the whole-
hearted comradeship of a fellow-worker of many years, will be welcome
to the numerous friends whom he has left behind him." — Spectator.

"Anyone who desires a general account of the Empire under Augustus
which is freshly and clearly written and based on wide reading will find
it here." — Manchester Guardian.

" Nothing could be better than the sympathetic tribute which Mrs.
Humphry Ward pays to her brother, or the analysis of his work and
method by his colleague Mr. Montague. The two together have more
stuff in them than many big books of recent biography." —

Westminster Gazette.

No. XVII. CALENDAR OF THE VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF
MANCHESTER. Session 1904-5. Demy 8vo, 1100 pp. 3s. net.

No. XVIII. CALENDAR OF THE VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF
MANCHESTER. Session 1905-6. Demy 8vo, 1100 pp. 3s. net.

No. XIX. CALENDAR OF THE VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF
MANCHESTER. Session 1906-7. Demy 8vo, 1100 pp. 3s. net.

MEDICAL SERIES. No. 7.

No. XX. HANDBOOK OF DISEASES OF THE HEART. By
GRAHAM STEELL, M.D., F.R.C. P., Lecturer in Diseases of the Heart,
and Physician to the Manchester Royal Infirmary. Crown 8vo.
400 pp., 11 plates (5 in colours), and 100 illustrations in the text.
7s. 6d. net.

34 CROSS STREET, MANCHESTER

SIIEKKATT AND HUGHES

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS -

ECONOMIC SERIES, No. 3. (GARTSIDE REPORT, No. 2.)
No. XXI. SOME MODERN CONDITIONS AND RECENT
DEVELOPMENTS IN IRON AND STEEL PRODUCTIONS
IN AMERICA, being a Report to the Gartside Electors, on the
results of a Tour in the U.S.A. By FRANK POPPLEWELL, B.Sc.
Demy 8vo. Price Is. net.

ECONOMIC SERIES, No. 4. (GARTSIDE REPORT. No. 3.)
No. XXII. ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS
IN THE UNITED STATES. By FRANK FOSTER, M.Sc. Demy
8vo. Price Is. net.

ECONOMIC SERIES, No. 5.

No. XXIII. THE RATING OF LAND VALUES. By J. D.

CHORLTON, M.Sc. Demy 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. net.

ECONOMIC SERIES, No. 6. (GARTSIDE REPORT, No. 4.)
No. XXIV. DYEING IN GERMANY AND AMERICA. By SYDNEY

H. HIGGINS, M.Sc. Demy 8vo. [In the press.

ECONOMIC SERIES, No. 7.

THE HOUSING PROBLEM IX ENGLAND. By ERNEST RITSON
DEWSNUP, M.A. [In the press.

EDUCATIONAL SERIES. No. 1.

CONTINUATION SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND AND ELSEWHERE :
Their place in the Educational System of an Industrial and Com-
mercial State. By MICHAEL E. SADLER, M.A., LL.D., Professor of
the History and Administration of Education. Demy 8vo.

This work is largely based on an enquiry made by past and present
Students of the Educational Department of the University of
Manchester. Chapters on Continuation Schools in the German
Empire, Switzerland, Denmark, and France, have been contributed
by other writers. [In the press.

HISTORICAL SERIES, No. 5.

CANON PETER CASOLA'S PILGRIMAGE TO JERUSALEM IX
THE YEAR 1494. By M. NEWETT. Demy 8vo. [Zn the press.

HISTORICAL SERIES, No. 6.

HISTORICAL ESSAYS. Edited by T. F. Tour, M.A., and JAMES
TAIT, M.A. Demy 8vo. [In the press.

The following are in preparation and will be issued shortly : —
DISEASES OF THE EAR. By W. MILLIGAN, M.D., Lecturer on

Diseases of the Ear and Nasal Surgeon to the Manchester Royal

Infirmary.
DISEASES OF THE EYE. By C. E. GLASCOTT, M.D., Lecturer on

Ophthalmology, and A. HILL GRIFFITH, M.D., Ophthalmic Surgeon

to the Manchester Royal Infirmary.
HANDBOOK OF NERVOUS DISEASES. By JUDSON S. BURY, M.D.,

Lecturer on Clinical Neurology and Physician to the Manchester

Royal Infirmary.

60 CHANDOS STREET, LONDON W.cT^

SHERRATT AND HUGHES

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS-^™"*

LECTURES.

GARDEN CITIES (Warburton Lecture). By RALPH NEVILLE, K.C.

6d. net.
THE BANK OF ENGLAND AND THE STATE (A Lecture). By

FELIX SCHUSTER. 6d. net.
BEARING AND IMPORTANCE OF COMMERCIAL TREATIES

IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. By Sir THOMAS BARCLAY.

6d. net.
THE SCIENCE OF LANGUAGE AND THE STUDY OF THE

GREEK TESTAMENT (A Lecture). By JAMES HOPE MOULTON,

M.A., Litt.D. 6d. net.
THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL : ITS POWERS AND ITS

WORK (A Lecture). By DONALD MACALISTER, M.A., M.D., B.Sc.,

D.C.L., LL.D. 6d. net.
THE CONTRASTS IN DANTE (A Lecture). By the Hon. WILLIAM

WARREN VERNON, M.A. 6d. net.

Issued -from the University Press.

MELANDRA CASTLE, being the Report of the Manchester and
District Branch of the Classical Association for 1905. Edited by
R. S. CONWAY, Litt.D. Introduction by Rev. E. L. HICKS, M.A.
Demy 8vo. Illustrated. 5s. net.

"Both the antiquarian and the student of general English history
should find this volume of deep interest." — Tribune.

"A thoroughly creditable piece of work, carefully edited. . . . Mean-
while we wish the excavators continued success, and hope that their
spirited example will be followed in other parts of the country by
competent classical scholars." — Mr. G. F. Hill in the Manchester Guardian.

"Many admirable plans and illustrations add to the clearness of this
excellently planned book on a very interesting subject." — Daily News.

Prof. Willamowitz Moellendorf, of Berlin, writes of the Keltic and
Roman Weights : — "This is really a great result and one on which the
Corpus Inscriptionum is silent."

TRANSACTIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CO-
OPERATION IN SOLAR RESEARCH (Vol. I., First and Second
Conferences). Demy 8vo, 260 pp. and plate. Price 7s. 6d. net.

THE BOOK OF RUTH (Unpointed Text). 6d. net.

SCENES FROM THE RUDENS OF PLAUTUS, with a Translation

into English Verse. Edited by R. S. CONWAY, Litt.D., Professor of

Latin in the University. 6d. net.

34 CROSS STREET, MANCHESTER

^ ~

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "The housing problem in England : its statistics, legislation and policy"

See other formats