“I wish I could induce the Vestry to insist more upon having the poorer dwellings cleansed and lime-whited.” And again, “The Vestry has the power to restrict the operation of underground rooms, yet it has not moved in this important matter.”[72]
The Medical Officer of Health for St. Giles’ (1857) referred to the—
“Indisposition of the Board to do works and charge the owners”; and, referring to a special case, he wrote, “It becomes your duty to do something to prevent the production of disease among the neighbours.”
The Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras wrote in 1856–7:—
“In many houses the overcrowding is very great. There is a clause under the Nuisances Removal Act by which the Vestry is called on to take proceedings before a magistrate to abate overcrowding, if it is certified to be such as to endanger health. No prosecutions have been taken under this clause.”
And again in 1859:—
“Very little has been done in this parish to abate over-crowding—extreme cases have been proceeded against. No systematic efforts have been made in this direction.”
And the Medical Officer of Health for Hampstead wrote (1856):—
“Nothing short of constant vigilance and inspection can keep the dwellings and premises of the people in a tolerably healthy state. I am not sure that your Board is blameless in some of these respects—an amiable, though weak, reluctance to act severely to any.”