50 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



urinals, lavatories or water closets of ordinary apartment or 

 tenement houses; the portion of any lot to be occupied by 

 such apartment or tenement house, and to do all things and 

 prescribe all rules and regulations necessary from time to 

 time respecting the health and welfare of persons occupying 

 any apartment or tenement house. 



"By-law No. 5850, re tenement houses. The by-law, 

 although not quite so comprehensive in its provisions as we 

 would have wished, will undoubtedly be of great service in 

 governing the erection of new tenements (to which it mostly 

 refers) and should result in much better sanitary conditions 

 in such buildings. 



"The clause relating to the occupation of basements in 

 tenements as dwelling places, should be of service to this 

 Department, as also those parts of the by-law dealing with 

 the convenience or alteration of existing buildings into tene- 

 ments. 



"The clause prohibiting the erection of wooden tene- 

 ments exceeding two storeys in height is also worthy of note." 

 In concluding this imperfect and incomplete paper, which is 

 but a preliminary to a more elaborate and detailed one containing a 

 statement of the actual conditions prevailing throughout Canada, 

 attention may be drawn to the fact that, with but few exceptions, 

 health authorities have done little or nothing to prevent the evils at 

 present existing. They have not as a rule exercised the powers they 

 now have, but where they have, it is encouraging to note that good 

 has been accomplished. 



In connection with this subject of housing, Dr. Fremantle, 

 Medical Officer of Health of the County of Hertford, recently 

 spoke as follows : 



"No sanitary authority can justify its existence, if it is 

 an urban authority at any rate, unless it has definite by-laws 

 in order to prevent the growing up of those defects which are 

 so costly, both to the individual and to the authority, in later 

 years. It is known that on the sanitation of private dwellings, 

 especially of the poorer classes, who are less able to look after 

 the repairs of their homes themselves, depends the health of 

 the individual, and, therefore, the health of the nation. It 

 is recognized as a principle in our national life that the hous- 

 ing of the working classes is one of the most important fea- 

 tures to which we have to pay attention in domestic legis- 

 lation, and, as that has been acknowledged, at the present 

 moment we are only extending the principle a step forward 



