"Now, This Shows," Said Lord Shaftesbury, "That Hundreds May Have Been
Ruined Simply By Living In Miserable Dwellings." I Looked Into This
Young Man's Tenement; It Was Not Only Neat, But Ornamented With A
Great Variety Of Engravings Tastefully Disposed Upon The Wall.
On my
expressing my pleasure in this circumstance, he added, "It is one of
the pleasantest features of the case, to notice how soon they began to
ornament their little dwellings; some have cages with singing birds,
and some pots of flowering plants; some, pictures and engravings."
"And are these buildings successful in a pecuniary point of view?" I
said. "Do they pay their own way?"
"Yes," he replied, "they do. I consider that these buildings, if they
have done nothing more, have established two points: first, that the
poor do not prefer dirt and disorder, where it is possible for them to
secure neatness and order; and second, that buildings with every
proper accommodation can be afforded at a price which will support an
establishment."
Said I, "Are people imitating these lodging houses very rapidly?"
"To a great extent they are," he replied, "but not so much as I
desire. Buildings on these principles have been erected in the
principal towns of England and Scotland. The state of the miserable
dwellings, courts, alleys, &c., is the consequence of the neglect of
former days, when speculators and builders were allowed to do as they
liked, and run up hovels, where the working man, whose house must be
regulated, not by his choice, but by his work, was compelled then, as
he is now, to live, however narrow, unhealthy, or repulsive the place
might be. This was called 'the liberty of the subject.'" It has been
one of Lord Shaftesbury's most arduous parliamentary labors to bring
the lodging houses under governmental regulation. He told me that he
introduced a bill to this effect in the House of Commons, while a
member, as Lord Ashley, and that just as it had passed through the
House of Commons, he entered the House of Lords, as Lord Shaftesbury,
and so had the satisfaction of carrying the bill to its completion in
that house, where it passed in the year 1851. The provisions of this
bill require every keeper of a lodging house to register his name at
the Metropolitan Police Office, under a penalty of a fine of five
pounds for every lodger received before this is done. After having
given notice to the police, they are not allowed to receive lodgers
until the officers have inspected the house, to see whether it accords
with the required conditions. These conditions are, that the walls and
ceilings be whitewashed; that the floors, stairs, beds, and bed
clothes are clean; that there be some mode of ventilating every room;
that each house be provided with every accommodation for promoting
decency and neatness; that the drains and cesspools are perfect; the
yards properly paved, so as to run dry; and that each house has a
supply of water, with conveniences for cooking and washing; and
finally, that no person with an infectious disease is inhabiting the
house.
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