became frightened, and allowed the house to be whitewashed, fumigated, and thoroughly cleansed. Since this was done the rooms have been occupied by a fresh set of people; but no case of fever has occurred.[40] This occurred seven years since, and on a very recent inquiry made at this same house, it was stated that comparative cleanliness having been maintained, no fever had since broken out, no more such deaths have been occasioned, no more burthens had been cast upon the poor’s rates from this house. The law already authorizes the house to be condemned, and its use arrested, when it is in a condition to endanger life by falling; if it be deemed that the principle should be applied to all manifest causes of disease or death, or danger to life, then, instead of the remote and practically useless remedy by the inspection of an unskilled and unqualified ward inquest (Vide General Sanitary Report, p. 300), the skilled and responsible medical officer, with such summary powers and duties of immediate interference, as were successfully exercised in the case above cited, should be appointed. § 197. It is proper to observe, that it occurs not unfrequently that such scenes arise from negligences and dilapidations of a succession of bad tenants, of which the chief landlord is himself unaware: but whether aware of it or not, the prompt intervention of an officer of health in such cases would not be without its compensation to the owner. A bricklayer, who himself owned some small houses occupied by artisans, which he had himself built, was asked in the course of another inquiry:— In what periods do you collect the rents?—Some monthly; about one-third monthly; the rest we collect quarterly. What may be your losses on the collections?—They will average, perhaps, about one-fifth; we lose rather the most on the quarterly tenements. What are the chief causes of your losses from this class of tenants?—Loss of work first; then sickness and death; then frauds. Are the frauds considerable?—Not so much as the inabilities to pay. I find the working classes, if they have means, as willing to pay and as honourable as any other class. Within the last 18 months there have been a great many people out of work; at other times there is as much loss to the landlord from sickness as from any other cause. Three out of five of the losses of rent that I now have, are losses from the sickness of the tenants, who are working men. When children are sick, there is of course no immediate interruption to the payment of rent?—Very seldom. What sort of sicknesses are they from which the interruption to work and to the payment of rent occurs?—Fevers, nervous disorders, and sickness that debilitates them. Then anything which promotes the health of the tenants will tend to prevent losses of rent to the owners of the lower class of houses?—Yes, I have decidedly found that rent is the best got from healthy houses.