“The only true and lasting foundation upon which the glory and safety of a nation can be built, must be upon the cultivation of the moral and physical powers belonging to man.”
The “owners” were of all classes.
An experienced witness[144] before the Committee of 1881, who had acted as arbitrator in some of these cases, referring to some of the worst slum areas in London, said:—
“It came before me that a great many people in life better than that supposed, do draw considerable incomes from insanitary house property.”
“Some of these worst places are held by rich gentlemen and ladies.”
“The class of landlords we have here are very shrewd money-making men, and they would not show much consideration to their tenants.”
The Medical Officer of Health for St. George-the-Martyr, Southwark, reported (1876–7):—
“We have heard denounced, times out of number, and in the strongest terms, the conduct of the holders of small property as being most selfish, and they themselves the most persistent and obstinate opponents of sanitary measures and improvements; and moreover that this class formed a considerable portion of our Vestries. However this may be, they cannot claim a monopoly to this unenviable distinction….
“Much of the small class property is placed in the hands of agents who neither hold nor cultivate any interest in the welfare and comfort of the tenants.
“To get the most rent with the least possible trouble and outlay seems to comprise their whole duty (of course there are exceptions).