第56章

Therearelandlordswhodeemanystyegoodenoughfortheirlabourerandhisfamily，andwhoyetdonotdisdaintodrivewithhimthehardestpossiblebargainforrent。[104]Itmaybebutaruinousone—bedroomedhut，havingnofire—grate，noprivy，noopeningwindow，nowatersupplybuttheditch，nogarden？butthelabourerishelplessagainstthewrong……AndtheNuisancesRemovalActs……are……ameredeadletter……ingreatpartdependentfortheirworkingonsuchcottage—ownersastheonefromwhomhis（thelabourer’s）hovelisrented……Frombrighter，butexceptionalscenes，itisrequisiteintheinterestsofjustice，thatattentionshouldagainbedrawntotheoverwhelmingpreponderanceoffactswhichareareproachtothecivilisationofEngland。Lamentableindeed，mustbethecase，when，notwithstandingallthatisevidentwithregardtothequalityofthepresentaccommodation，itisthecommonconclusionofcompetentobserversthateventhegeneralbadnessofdwellingsisanevilinfinitelylessurgentthantheirmerenumericalinsufficiency。Foryearstheover—crowdingofrurallabourers’dwellingshasbeenamatterofdeepconcern，notonlytopersonswhocareforsanitarygood，buttopersonswhocarefordecentandmorallife。For，againandagaininphrasessouniformthattheyseemstereotyped，reportersonthespreadofepidemicdiseaseinruraldistricts，haveinsistedentheextremeimportanceofthatover—crowding，asaninfluencewhichrendersitaquitehopelesstask，toattemptthelimitingofanyinfectionwhichisintroduced。Andagainandagainithasbeenpointedoutthat，notwithstandingthemanysalubriousinfluenceswhichthereareincountrylife，thecrowdingwhichsofavourstheextensionofcontagiousdisease，alsofavourstheoriginationofdiseasewhichisnotcontagious。

Andthosewhohavedenouncedtheover—crowdedstateofourruralpopulationhavenotbeensilentastoafurthermischief。Evenwheretheirprimaryconcernhasbeenonlywiththeinjurytohealth，oftenalmostperforcetheyhavereferredtootherrelationsonthesubject。Inshowinghowfrequentlyithappensthatadultpersonsofbothsexes，marriedandunmarried，arehuddledtogetherinsinglesmallsleepingrooms，theirreportshavecarriedtheconvictionthat;underthecircumstancestheydescribe，decencymustalwaysbeoutraged，andmoralityalmostofnecessitymustsuffer。[105]Thus，forinstance，intheappendixofmylastannualreport，Dr。Ord，reportingonanoutbreakoffeveratWing，inBuckinghamshire，mentionshowayoungmanwhohadcomethitherfromWingravewithfever，"inthefirstdaysofhisillnesssleptinaroomwithnineotherpersons。

Withinafortnightseveralofthesepersonswereattacked，andinthecourseofafewweeksfiveoutoftheninehadfever，andonedied……"FromDr。

Harvey，ofSt。George’sHospital，who，onprivateprofessionalbusiness，visitedWingduringthetimeoftheepidemic，Ireceivedinformationexactlyinthesenseoftheabovereport……"Ayoungwomanhavingfever，layatnightinaroomoccupiedbyherfatherandmother，herbastardchild，twoyoungmen（herbrothers），andhertwosisters，eachwithabastardchild？10personsinall。Afewweeksago13personssleptinit。;[106]

Dr。Hunterinvestigated5，375cottagesofagriculturallabourers，notonlyinthepurelyagriculturaldistricts，butinallcountiesofEngland。

Ofthese，2，195hadonlyonebedroom（oftenatthesametimeusedasliving—room），2，930onlytwo，and250，morethantwo。Iwillgiveafewspecimensculledfromadozencounties。

（1。）BedfordshireWrestlingworth。Bedroomsabout12feetlongand10broad，althoughmanyaresmallerthanthis。Thesmall，one—storiedcotsareoftendividedbypartitionsintotwobedrooms，onebedfrequentlyinakitchen，5feet6inchesinheight。Rent，£3ayear。Thetenantshavetomaketheirownprivies，thelandlordonlysuppliesahole。Assoonasonehasmadeaprivy，itismadeuseofbythewholeneighbourhood。Onehouse，belongingtoafamilycalledRichardson，wasofquiteunapproachablebeauty。"Itsplasterwallsbulgedverylikealady’sdressinacurtsey。Onegableendwasconvex，theotherconcave，andonthislast，unfortunately，stoodthechimney，acurvedtubeofclayandwoodlikeanelephant’strunk。Alongstickservedasproptopreventthechimneyfromfalling。Thedoorwayandwindowwererhomboidal。"Of17housesvisited，only4hadmorethanonebedroom，andthosefourover—crowded。Thecotswithonebedroomsheltered3adultsand3children，amarriedcouplewith6children，&c。

Dunton。Highrents，from£4to£5;weeklywagesoftheman，10s。Theyhopetopaytherentbythestraw—plaitingofthefamily。

Thehighertherent，thegreaterthenumberthatmustworktogethertopayit。Sixadults，livingwith4childreninonesleepingapartment，pay£310s。forit。ThecheapesthouseinDunton，15feetlongexternally，10broad，letfor£3。Onlyoneofthehousesinvestigatedhad2bedrooms。Alittleoutsidethevillage，ahousewhose"tenantsdungedagainstthehouse—side，"thelower9inchesofthedooreatenawaythroughsheerrottenness;thedoorway，asingleopeningclosedatnightbyafewbricks，ingeniouslypushedupaftershuttingandcoveredwithsomematting。Halfawindow，withglassandframe，hadgonethewayofallflesh。Here，withoutfurniture，huddledtogetherwere3adultsand5children。DuntonisnotworsethantherestofBiggleswadeUnion。

（2。）BerkshireBeenham。InJune，1864，aman，hiswifeand4childrenlivedinacot（one—storiedcottage）。Adaughtercamehomefromservicewithscarletfever。Shedied。Onechildsickenedanddied。ThemotherandonechildweredownwithtyphuswhenDr。Hunterwascalledin。Thefatherandonechildsleptoutside，butthedifficultyofsecuringisolationwasseenhere，forinthecrowdedmarketofthemiserablevillagelaythelinenofthefever—strickenhousehold，waitingforthewash。TherentofH。’shouse，1s。a—week;onebedroomforman，wife，and6children。Onehouseletfor8d。a—week，14feet6incheslong，7feetbroad，kitchen，6feethigh;thebedroomwithoutwindow，fire—place，door，oropening，exceptintothelobby;nogarden。Amanlivedhereforalittlewhile，withtwogrown—updaughtersandonegrown—upson;fatherandsonsleptonthebed，thegirlsinthepassage。Eachofthelatterhadachildwhilethefamilywaslivinghere，butonewenttotheworkhouseforherconfinementandthencamehome。

（3。）Buckinghamshire30cottages？on1，000acresofland？containedhereabout130—140

persons。TheparishofBradenhamcomprises1，000acres;itnumbered，in1851，36housesandapopulationof84malesand54females。Thisinequalityofthesexeswaspartlyremediedin1861，whentheynumbered98malesand87females;increasein10yearsof14menand33women。Meanwhile，thenumberofhouseswasoneless。

Winslow。Greatpartofthisnewlybuiltingoodstyle;demandforhousesappearsverymarked，sinceverymiserablecotsletat1s。to1s。3d。perweek。

WaterEaton。Herethelandlords，inviewoftheincreasingpopulation，havedestroyedabout20percent。oftheexistinghouses。Apoorlabourer，whohadtogoabout4milestohiswork，answeredthequestion，whetherhecouldnotfindacotnearer:"No;theyknowbetterthantotakeamaninwithmylargefamily。"

Tinker’sEnd，nearWinslow。Abedroominwhichwere4adultsand4children;11feetlong，9feetbroad，6feet5incheshighatitshighestpart;another11feet3inchesby9feet，5feet10incheshigh，sheltered6persons。Eachofthesefamilieshadlessspacethanisconsiderednecessaryforaconvict。Nohousehadmorethanonebedroom，notoneofthemaback—door;waterveryscarce;weeklyrentfrom1s。4d。to2s。In16ofthehousesvisited，only1manthatearned10s。a—week。Thequantityofairforeachpersonunderthecircumstancesjustdescribedcorrespondstothatwhichhewouldhaveifhewereshutupinaboxof4feetmeasuringeachway，thewholenight。Butthen，theancientdensaffordedacertainamountofunintentionalventilation。

（4。）CambridgeshireGamblingaybelongstoseverallandlords。Itcontainsthewretchedestcotstobefoundanywhere。Muchstraw—plaiting。"Adeadlylassitude，ahopelesssurrenderinguptofilth，"reignsinGamblingay。Theneglectinitscentre，becomesmortificationatitsextremities，northandsouth，wherethehousesarerottingtopieces。Theabsenteelandlordsbleedthispoorrookerytoofreely。Therentsareveryhigh;8or9personspackedinonesleepingapartment，in2cases6adults，eachwith1or2childreninonesmallbedroom。

（5。）EssexInthiscounty，diminutionsinthenumberofpersonsandofcottagesgo，inmanyparishes，handinhand。Innotlessthan22parishes，however，thedestructionofhouseshasnotpreventedincreaseofpopulation，orhasnotbroughtaboutthatexpulsionwhich，underthename"migrationtotowns，"generallyoccurs。InFingringhoe，aparishof3，443acres，werein1851，145houses;in1861，only110。Butthepeopledidnotwishtogoaway，andmanagedeventoincreaseunderthesecircumstances。In1851，252personsinhabited61houses，butin1861，262personsweresqueezedinto49houses。InBasilden，in1851，157personslivedon1，827acres，in35houses;attheendoftenyears，180personsin27houses。IntheparishesofFingringhoe，SouthFambridge，Widford，Basilden，andRamsdenCrags，in1851，1，392personswerelivingon8，449acresin316houses;

in1861，onthesamearea，1，473personsin249houses。

（6。）HerefordshireThislittlecountyhassufferedmorefromthe"eviction—spirit"thananyotherinEngland。AtNadby，over—crowdedcottagesgenerally，withonly2bedrooms，belongingforthemostparttothefarmers。Theyeasilyletthemfor£3or£4a—year，andpaidaweeklywageof9s。

（7）HuntingdonHartfordhad，in1851，87houses;shortlyafterthis，19cottagesweredestroyedinthissmallparishof1，720acres;populationin1831，452;in1852，832;andin1861，341。14cottages，eachwith1bedroom，werevisited。Inone，amarriedcouple，3grown—upsons，1grown—updaughter，4children？inall10inanother，3adults，6children。Oneoftheserooms，inwhich8peopleslept，was12feet10incheslong，12feet2inchesbroad，6feet9incheshigh:theaverage，withoutmakinganydeductionforprojectionsintotheapartment，gaveabout130cubicfeetperhead。Inthe14sleepingrooms，34adultsand33children。Thesecottagesareseldomprovidedwithgardens，butmanyoftheinmatesareabletofarmsmallallotmentsat10s。

or12s。perrood。Theseallotmentsareatadistancefromthehouses，whicharewithoutprivies。Thefamily"musteithergototheallotmenttodeposittheirordures，"or，ashappensinthisplace，savingyourpresence，"useaclosetwithatroughsetlikeadrawerinachestofdrawers，anddrawnoutweeklyandconveyedtotheallotmenttobeemptiedwhereitscontentswerewanted。"InJapan，thecircleoflife—conditionsmovesmoredecentlythanthis。

（8）LincolnshireLangtoft。Amanliveshere，inWright’shouse，withhiswife，hermother，and5children;thehousehasafrontkitchen，scullery，bedroomoverthefrontkitchen;frontkitchenandbedroom，12feet2inchesby9feet5inches