670 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION H. 
yarried without children, and if the essentially British 
character of our population is maintained, this system 
is not likely to find general favour, even among the un- 
encumbered, as the desire to possess a home of one’s own, 
however small, is inherent in our race. For parents with 
young children, a house is absolutely essential if the well- 
being of the next generation is to be properly cared for. 
Of course, the wealthy will still be able to obtain domestic 
help as at present by paying highly for it, and possibly by 
employing relays when the hours of work are reduced, as 
they are certain to be; but this will still further accentuate 
the difficulty for those less well-off, and force on some 
other solution for the great mass of middle-class people of 
moderate means. 
The foregoing considerations have long been patent, and 
it has occurred to me that the solution can be materially 
aided by the architectural profession, if public interest 
can be aroused and the intense conservatism of the average 
widdle-class man, and especially woman, can be broken 
down. For the dwellings we now possess, even the most 
modern, are based on the root idea of two classes inhabiting 
the same domicile. This, of course, is a survival of the 
past, and commenced in the earliest ages, when slaves were 
plentiful. It was continued through the Middle Ages, when 
the household still included many retainers whose position 
was but little better than that of their predecessors. They 
were, however, apparently regarded as subordinate members 
of the family, and treated as such, so that their lot was not 
‘so hard as it would appear to us. The complete severance 
of interest between mistress and maid did not fully develop 
till the last century, and may be traced to many causcs. 
Hence, the houses of the nineteenth century show a dis- 
tinct separation of the two sets of inhabitants, and writers 
on house-planning do not fail to emphasise the fact. 
This separation is particularly noticeable in the kitchen 
department, the servants’ sitting and sleeping quarters, 
and staircase thereto, and the provision of a passage (mis- 
named a hall) to give access to the front door without, 
passing through any of the rooms. 
In a house to be worked without resident servants of an 
inferior class, this separation is needless ; and it goes without 
saying that the middle-class house of the future must be as 
compact and easily worked as it is possible to make it. 
Tt does not follow from this that the rooms need be any 
smaller than at present, as it is no economy of labour to be 
cramped, but it is essential that every unnecessary room, 
