course were adopted, it might and would, no doubt, impose at first considerable expenditure upon particular districts; but, as I have said before, this should be distributed equitably over the whole metropolis; and there is no doubt that ultimately it would prove productive no less of economy to the whole city than of real benefit and advantage to the poor. There are, no doubt, evils which no laws relating to the habitations of the poor can cure; none the less, I hope and believe that this little book will do something to convince the public that it is not impossible, that even it is not difficult, for the Legislature to provide means to secure the due exercise of those powers which it has already called into existence, and which, if duly exercised, are almost co-extensive with the evils which result from the deplorable condition of the dwellings in which so many of our poor live. ARTHUR COHEN. LEGAL OBLIGATIONS IN RELATION TO THE DWELLINGS OF THE POOR. I. INTRODUCTION. IN the course of the debate which followed the Marquis of Salisbury's motion for the appointment of a Commission to inquire into the condition of the houses of the working classes, on the 23rd of February, 1884, it was stated by the Earl of Shaftesbury "that there was no necessity for fresh legislation there were Acts of Parliament enough, which only wanted to be consolidated and put consistently into practice." The belief is now gradually gaining ground that the law, as it exists at present, is fully competent to deal efficiently with a large number, at least, of the evils which characterise the homes of the poorest classes in populous towns, and that what is really required is rather the recognition and enforcement of existing powers than the creation of fresh ones. It is the object of the following pages to examine what the provisions of those Acts of Parliament are, and how far they extend; what evils they are competent to check, by what means they attain their purpose, and within whose power or duty it is to enforce them-in fact, to take a survey of the existing law. This law is contained in a number of statutes, ranging in date from 1848 to 1882. Some of them are only "permissive" or "enabling" statutes, imposing no duties at all, but simply |