1866.]| . The Sanitary Condition of Glasgow. 487 
superintendents of police have a certain amount of power in their 
hands, under the provisions of the Glasgow Police Act They can 
order outside cleansing, such as in common stairs, closes, courts, 
lanes, together with the removal of nuisances; and they can 
prosecute before the police magistrates if their orders are not 
attended to. The city architect, who is superintendent of streets 
and buildings, is also concerned in the work, being consulted both - 
by the medical and police staffs, and is the professional inspector 
in various matters incidental to the health of the town. 
Thanks to the activity of the Chairman of the Sanitary Com- 
mittee, and to the special qualifications which Dr. Gairdner has for 
the performance of the duties devolving on him, the sanitary 
arrangements of Glasgow are tolerably good. Nor is it the fault 
of the assistant officers if there is anything to complain of there on 
the score of public health. There, as elsewhere, overcrowding is 
found to be one of the most productive causes of epidemic diseases, 
and to keep this down the Police Act (1862) requires, in all houses 
of less than three apartments, an absolute minimum of 300 cubic 
feet. of space for each person above eight years, and of 150 cubic 
feet for each person under that age, inhabiting the house. The 
law is enforced by the police through a particular system, indicated 
by tickets, and hence there are ticketed houses and others. In 
several sanitary districts of the city no houses at all have been 
ticketed ; in others, very few; and in others, again, a moderate or 
very large proportion, according to considerations of public ex- 
pediency. ; 
So great has been the energy of the proper authorities that, in 
the 54 sanitary districts of the city, the following was the state of 
the ticketing system on the 31st January of this year :— 
Houses overcrowded (that had been ticketed) . . 1,046 
Containing individuals over & years : 673 + 
33 3 under 8 ,, “ 1,509 
2,182 
Not overcrowded . A : . ; : a6 
Empty houses. : : 2 - . . - 252 
This is independent of the common lodging-houses according to 
the Act. They are not ticketed, but are under such regulations as 
practically prohibit overcrowding. Comparing the vital statistics of 
some of the sanitary districts m different years, and these again 
with the ticketing statistics, it is found that it is quite possible, by 
legal interference, to do a good deal towards mitigating some of the 
worst evils connected with over-population ; and it is satisfactory to 
note that in districts in which overcrowding and epidemic fever 
were previously very great, indeed for a long series of years, the 
fever rate has persistently declined as the number of overcrowded 
houses has diminished. In other districts of the city, having much 
