“The middleman makes the tenant pay an excessive rent because he insists upon making an excessive profit.”
The great work which the Commission did was in the enlightenment of the public, and the material they afforded for the formation of public opinion in the right direction. Subsequent experience showed that the recommendations made—excellent and helpful as so many of them were—did not by a long way cut deep enough to extirpate the more serious evils.
“It is evident,” wrote the Commissioners, “that the 35th Section of the Sanitary Act of 1866 (dealing with tenement-houses) which contains a remedy for some of the evils which have been described is likely to remain a dead letter in many districts of the metropolis until some improved means be devised for putting it into action.” They recommended that the local authorities who had not already made and enforced bye-laws under the section “should proceed to do so.”
But no compulsion was suggested to make them do so, or for the only effective alternative, the provision of other machinery to act in their default, and so the local authorities were in this matter allowed to remain in their position of complete independence and to continue their policy of inactivity—if not obstruction.
As to inspection, and the inadequacy of a sanitary staff, much evidence had been given, but, they remarked:—
“It is evident that where work is performed according to the custom of certain districts of the metropolis it really does not matter whether the staff of inspectors be large or small.”
They summed up their general view in the following passage:—
“Without entering upon questions of policy of far wider application than the more immediate subject-matter of the present inquiry, Your Majesty’s Commissioners are clearly of opinion that there has been failure in administration rather than in legislation, although the latter is no doubt capable of improvement. What at the present time is specially required is some motive power, and probably there can be no stronger motive power than public opinion.”
And with that view they recommended that inquiries should be held as to the immediate sanitary requirements of different districts, and the reports be presented to Parliament.