MY WORK, STAFF, AND CHIEFS 47 



have been that the fittest alone survived the 

 hardships of their bringing up, and that men 

 who had endured such things could be destroyed 

 by nothing short of fire-arms. 



I set to work at once to raise the standard 

 of these dwellings. It is not easy to get money, 

 when it shows no increase of income, to be ex- 

 pended by the Treasury, and in those days I 

 had no Rural District Bye-laws and no Housing 

 and Town Planning Act to wave in the face of 

 Whitehall as an indication of what were con- 

 sidered the necessary conditions for a labourer's 

 dwelling. 



Luckily, however, the Ecclesiastical Commis- 

 sioners had recently laid down a rule as to the 

 minimum accommodation for a labourer's cottage. 

 Nor does it at all err on the side of extrava- 

 gance. 



Practically, it is to the effect that no cottage 

 shall comprise less than a good kitchen and living 

 room if not indeed a kitchen and an indepen- 

 dent wash-house, and above stairs " three separate 

 bed rooms which do not communicate with one 

 another." 



With this trump card up my sleeve, and 

 with the hearty backing of Sir Henry Loch, I 

 introduced an estimate for the improvement of 

 three cottages, and it passed muster for very 



