St. Giles, Camberwell : report on the Sanitary Acts in their relation to the houses of the very poor.

  • Bristowe, John Syer, 1827-1895.
Date:
[1884]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: St. Giles, Camberwell : report on the Sanitary Acts in their relation to the houses of the very poor. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    stand this. Clauses in Sanitary Acts are sometimes ambi- guously worded. For some obvious sanitary needs no legal provisions whatever exist. In some cases specific enactments are rendered powerless by other enactments. The plea of poverty, or some other such plea, is successfully urged in miti- gation or for delay. Scientific evidence of an impressive character and barristers of eminence appear in opposition. Magistrates occasionally misread Acts of Parliament. And last, but not least, persons required to do sanitary works, even under the order of the magistrate, not nnfrequently do them per- functorily and imperfectly, but in such a way as just to escape the penalty attached to non-compliance. Some of the above remarks will be illustrated by what follows. The very basis of our proceedings under those clauses of the Sanitary Acts which relate to dwelling houses is that there shall be a nuisance or injury to health. Now mere dirt does not necessarily imply unhealthiness, still less do mere dilapidations. Holes in ceilings, holes in walls, holes in floors, rickety stair- cases and broken bannisters may and do all exist without causing the slightest danger to health. Blackness of walls and ceilings may be the simple consequence of dirty occupations or the effects of smoke, and in a sanitary point of view perfectly harmless. Even the foul atmosphere which may be found asso- ciated with these conditions may be due simply to the fact that the windows are closed, and so many people with unwashed bodies and frowsy reeking clothes on their backs are accumu- lated on the premises. I speak thus not to conjure up imaginary difficulties, but because such difficulties actually exist, because they are often brought under my notice, and because the suggested arguments have actually been urged successfully against the action of Sanitary Officers. And, indeed, I do not hesitate to assert that a thoughtful and experienced expert would, on these and such like grounds, often hesitate or refuse to institute proceeding against property which the casual philanthropic visitor would at once condemn, and the condition of which ho might adduce and picture as evidence of gross neglect.