OF NUISANCES THAT HIS INTERVENTION IS REQUIRED IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE EXISTENCE OF ANY NUISANCE INJURIOUS TO HEALTH, OR OF ANY OVERCROWDING IN A HOUSE, HE SHALL, AS EARLY AS PRACTICABLE, TAKE SUCH STEPS AUTHORISED BY THE STATUTES IN THAT BEHALF AS THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE MAY JUSTIFY AND REQUIRE.

THE following are the enactments relating to overcrowding, and to premises unfit for human habitation:

THE NUISANCES' REMOVAL ACT FOR ENGLAND, 1855. (18 & 19 Vict. c. III.)

Overcrowded Houses.

Section 29.-Whenever the medical officer of health, if there be one, or, if none, whenever two qualified medical practitioners, shall certify to the local authority that any house is so overcrowded as to be dangerous or prejudicial to the health of the inhabitants, and the inhabitants shall consist of more than one family, the local authority shall cause proceedings to be taken before the justices to abate such overcrowding, and the justices shall thereupon make such order as they may think fit, and the person permitting such overcrowding shall forfeit a sum not exceeding forty shillings.

THE SANITARY ACT, 1866.

(29 & 30 Vict. c, 90.)

Overcrowding.

Section 19.-The word "nuisance," under the Nuisances' Removal Acts, shall include

(1) Any house, or part of a house, so overcrowded as to be dangerous to the health of the inmates.

In Cities, Boroughs, or Towns, Secretary of State, on Applica tion of Nuisance Authority, may empower them to make Regulations as to Lodging-houses.

Section 35.-On application to one of Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State by the nuisance authority of the City of London, or any district or parish included within the Act for the Better Local Government of the Metropolis, or of any municipal borough, or of any place under the Local Government Act, 1858, or any local improvement Act, or of any city or town containing, according to the census for the time being in force, a population of not less than 5000 inhabitants, the Secretary of State may, as he may think fit, by notice to be published in the London Gazette, declare the following enactment to be in force in the district of such nuisance authority, and from and after the publication of such notice the nuisance authority shall be empowered to make regulations for the following matters; that is to say :

(1) 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:
(2) For the registration of houses thus let or occupied
in lodgings :

(3) Por the inspection of such houses, and the keeping
the same in a cleanly and wholesome state :
(4) For enforcing therein the provision of privy ac-
commodation and other appliances and means of
cleanliness in proportion to the number of lodgings
and occupiers, and the cleansing and ventilation of
the common passages and staircases :

(5) For the cleansing and lime-whiting at stated times of such premises :

The nuisance authority may provide for the enforcement of the above regulations by penalties not exceeding forty shillings for any one offence, with an additional penalty not exceeding twenty shillings for every day during which a default in obeying such regulations may continue; but such regulations shall not be of any validity unless and until they shall have been confirmed by the Secretary of State.

But this section shall not apply to common lodging-houses within the provisions of the Common Lodging-houses Act, 1851, or any Act amending the same.

Cases in which Two Convictions have occurred within Three Months.

Section 36.-Where two convictions against the provisions of any Act relating to the overcrowding of a house, or the occupation of a cellar as a separate dwelling-place, shall have taken place within the period of three months, whether the persons so convicted were or were not the same, it shall be lawful for any two justices to direct the closing of such premises for such time as they may deem necessary, and in the case of cellars occupied as aforesaid, to empower the nuisance authority to permanently close the same in such manner as they may deem fit, at their own cost.

THE ARTISANS' AND LABOURERS' Dwellings Act, 1868. (31 & 32 Vict. c. 130.)

Premises in a Condition unfavourable to Health.

Section 5.-If in any place to which this Act applies the officer of health finds that any premises therein are in a condition or state dangerous to health, so as to be unfit for human habitation, he shall report the same in the manner hereinafter provided to the local authority.

Section 6.-Every report made under this Act by the officer of health shall be made in writing and delivered to the clerk of the local authority, and the local authority shall refer such report to a surveyor or engineer, who shall thereupon consider the report so furnished to him, and report

to the local authority what is the cause of the evil so reported on, and the remedy thereof, and, if such evil is occasioned by defects in any premises, whether the same can be remedied by structural alterations and improvements, or otherwise, or whether such premises, or any and what part thereof, ought to be demolished.

He is directed to act under this clause on official information, that is to say, on the information supplied by his own inspector of nuisances; but he would not be safe in ignoring information which might reach him from any other persons, or which might become personally known to him. If he should obtain information on the two subjects referred to in the clause, he should take the action prescribed; but however he might justify neglect of such information, he must act on the receipt of information supplied by the inspector.

The subjects referred to are nuisances injurious to health and overcrowding in a house. The former has been sufficiently referred to under former paragraphs, but it will be well to again notice the limits of his action, viz. not a nuisance merely, but a nuisance injurious to health, and whatever may be the opinion of the inspector of nuisances, or of any other person, it will be his duty to act upon his own decision as to whether it is injurious to health. It moreover appears from the wording of the clause that proof must exist that it is injurious to health, and therefore action can scarcely be taken until ill-health or sickness has arisen, and in his opinion has been due to the nuisance. The words are not, "threaten to affect injuriously the public health," as in No. 1, but, "any nuisance injurious to health."

The subject of overcrowding is one of as much difficulty in treatment as importance, and particularly in towns. The

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term "overcrowding" is not limited to mere convenience, or even social propriety, but has special reference to health, and should be understood to be overcrowding in a degree injurious to health. The meaning of the word has not been determined by the Legislature, but so far as relates to metropolitan lodging-houses, there must be 30 feet of floor space, and 240 cubical feet of air space for each inmate, and any quantity less than that would indicate overcrowding. The space required by the Emigration Commissioners on emigrant ships is fifteen superficial feet for each person, and a height of not less than six feet, and the hospital accommodation is reckoned in even this extremely limited space.

The question of overcrowding in a particular house must depend upon the position, surroundings, and construction of the house; for an ill-ventilated dwelling in a closed court in a town would clearly be overcrowded in the sense of injury to health with a smaller number of inmates than a house having the same cubical capacity under more favourable sanitary conditions. For the same reason a house which has been materially improved by ventilation might be no longer overcrowded in that sense, or might admit an increased number of inmates.

The steps which may be taken are defined by statute, but he is entitled to take only such steps as the circumstances of the case may justify and require. He is not the only person who may have to determine whether in a particular case the circumstances do justify and require certain steps; put he is one of them, and his opinion will have much weight, although it may be challenged, and he is entitled to act upon his opinion so long as he is within the statutes.