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elsewhere and progress was, before the war, being made with another portion of the estate, prospective tenants having an opportunity of seeing the building of their homes.

Intending tenants are required to invest in transferable loan stock bearing interest at 4 per cent. per annum (now 44 per cent.). Applications must be for not less than £20 (now Financial £50), payable by instalments of not less than £5 Arrangements. on allotment, and the balance at the rate of at least 5s. per month. On amounts of £20 and upwards invested in one sum the interest is 4 per cent. Applications for loan stock are also received from non-tenants, who secure a safe investment and are helping forward a most necessary work. Money is also received on loan (at short notice of withdrawal). New tenants' interest on loan stock is not paid out in cash, but is credited to their account.

- In addition to the 4 per cent. interest on the loan stock, tenant investors will share in the surplus profits of the society (as at Ealing and other Co-partnership estates, Hampstead, etc.).

A resident obtains, on such an estate, advantages which as an individual he might not otherwise enjoy-shrubberies, tennis courts, bowling greens and open spaces; and being financially interested in the estate he should, and for the most part does, exert his influence to the protection of its property and the maintenance of its ideals.

The following clubs, classes, etc., are open to all tenants and were in operation before the war

Social Life on the Liverpool

Musical Society, which has produced Edward German's "Merrie England," Elgar's "Banner of Garden Suburb. St. George," Coleridge Taylor's "Hiawatha," C. Villiers Stanford's "The Revenge," etc.

Horticultural Society-(Affiliated to the Agricultural Organization Society). Tennis, bowling, hockey, and cricket clubs, magazine club, Parliamentary debating society, dancing class, juniors' club, billiards.

The centre of these activities is the temporary Club House, Thingwall Road, in which are concert, billiards, games and reading rooms (the last two suspended during the war).

The foundation stone for the new Institute and Club House was

laid by the late Earl Grey in July, 1914. The work of these organizations was co-ordinated for some years by a tenants' council which has, however, now lapsed. On Sunday mornings there is an Adult School.

Summer festivals were held annually before the war, with folk and country dancing, folk-songs, and other open-air activities. In pre-war days a little journal was published, The Thingwallian, serving as a means of communication between the residents and for occasional literary efforts.

Special playgrounds are set apart for the young people, where they are safe from the dangers of passing vehicular traffic and can play without fear of harm coming to them.

The Education Committee of the Liverpool Corporation, realizing the growth of the suburb, have established a public elementary school for infants in the Institute on the estate- a great convenience to the children, who are saved a journey across the roads over-run with traffic. A site has also been approved for the erection of a school in the near future.

Each house has its own plot of ground for a garden, and is planned so as to secure the maximum amount of light and sunshine. The living room or working room has generally the sunniest aspect.

It is a feature of the builders to supply all the fittings necessary for the electric light.

Advantages of Living in the Garden Suburb.

The servant question has to some extent been solved by the introduction of many up-to-date internal arrangements for labour saving.

In several instances, however, utility in internal design has been sacrificed to external appearance. The most comfortable and convenient houses are those which look plainest outside. The placing of doors and windows (especially in bedrooms) deserves further attention, particularly from the standpoint of the casement type of window. Chimneys are in some instances on outer walls. The roofing (red tiles) is particularly good. Tenants accept responsibility for internal decorations.

One acre in every ten is specially set apart to provide open spaces, while the houses average ten to the acre.

The Garden Suburb Tenant Movement does not aim at catering for the artisan class only. Taking the Liverpool Garden Suburb

as an illustration, the tenants are largely clerks, teachers (head teachers and secondary school teachers especially), postal officials, managers of shops, and others of this type. On some other Estates a larger percentage are artisans, whilst at Hampstead practically every class is catered for.

Housing by
Local
Authorities.

CHAPTER XIII

HOUSING BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES

THE supply of houses in the past has thus principally been undertaken by private enterprise, assisted by employers of labour, co-operative societies and philanthropic bodies. There is still a gap left, which many have looked to the local authorities to fill. There are two main arguments directed against this form of supply. The first is that if local authorities build they deal a serious blow against builders as a class. Private enterprise cannot be expected to compete successfully with local authorities in this matter. If local authorities insist on building, it is urged, it will only be increasing the evil of lack of accommodation, for private enterprise will tend to be driven out of the field. The answer to this objection is that the need for accommodation is so urgent and extensive that there is plenty of room for both private and municipal enterprise. As a matter of fact, private enterprise has not been shown to be especially failing during the last ten years, and it is only during that time that there has been any considerable development of municipal housing in this country. It was owing to the failure of private enterprise to supply the need before that time that the London County Council resolved, in 1895, to build for itself rather than let to artisan dwelling companies for this purpose.

The other main objection to municipal housing is that the local authorities are not in a proper position to do this work. The local authorities are public bodies conferring a "sectional benefit " if they build houses for one class of its citizens. If the building scheme should not pay there is a great temptation to fall back upon the rates and so further injure the whole body of citizens. A way will thus be opened to jobbery and corruption, already a serious danger to public bodies. It is also urged that local authorities cannot provide that infinite variety of accommodation which the housing of the people demands. Only the ordinary business pressure of competition and the rising of supply to the level of demand, with a view to commercial profit, will give this

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variety, and the local authority is not able to compete or to meet this demand as the private builder would. The answer to this is that so far from municipal housing, when properly managed, being a "sectional benefit," it is a real and distinct benefit to the whole community. Recalling the illustration already given of the Richmond scheme, an illustration which can be repeated from London, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, and many other cities, we saw that the whole body of ratepayers gained the reversion, in a few years, of a valuable building estate for which they had not paid a penny. Nor must it be overlooked that the residents on this estate are all paying the town rates, thus helping to bear the general burden of the community.

The first legislation under which local authorities were empowered to provide houses was initiated by Lord Shaftesbury in 1851, followed by Mr. Torrens in 1868. For many reasons, the laws then passed under the pressure of public opinion remained ineffective. Under Lord Shaftesbury's Acts no important housing schemes were attempted by the great municipalities. Under the later Acts some improvements were made, but these rarely included the provision of dwellings to make good the demolition of houses through schemes of sanitation.

The historic Royal Commission of 1884-85, clearly demonstrating the crying need for reforms, led to the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1885, which extended to all urban sanitary districts the existing legislation for the provision of suitable dwellings for the working classes. Previously it had applied only to boroughs having over 25,000 inhabitants. Later was passed the more important Housing of the Working Classes Act of 1890, which wholly repealed the thirteen previous Acts dealing with artisans' and labourers' dwellings, and repealed section 6 of the Public Works Loans Act; while many of the provisions contained in the previous Acts were consolidated with those of the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1885, and amended.

Of the total sum of £2,347,353, for which loans were sanctioned under these various Acts between 1876 and 1890, only a small fraction was for the construction of dwellings, nearly all of it being spent upon the clearance of unhealthy areas.

In the period previous to 1909 the most useful power given to local 1 Page 118.

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