But another reflection also suggests itself, namely, why should the ratepayers of London have been obliged to pay these high sums for property which, by the culpable neglect of the owners and their predecessors, had been allowed to sink into a condition not alone exceptionally dangerous to the lives of its inhabitants, but a constant danger to neighbouring districts--even to London itself. Surely in common fairness, those who had let it fall into such a state should have paid the penalty therefor, and not the public of London, who had had no part in bringing the property into such an evil condition. Part II. of the Act was mostly a consolidation of Torrens' Acts, 1868 and 1882, with amendments. It enabled the Vestries or District Boards to take proceedings before a magistrate for the clearing and demolition of single houses unfit for human habitation, and obstructive buildings, and empowered them and the County Council to undertake schemes for the improvement of areas too small to be dealt with by the Council. The owner might elect to retain the site after the demolition of the building, and in that case received compensation for the building only. If the Vestry or District Board acquired the site the same procedure as to compensation had to be followed as under Part I. A few schemes were undertaken by Vestries under this Part of the Act, the Council making a contribution to the cost, and a few by the Council. Thus in St. George-in-the-East, from November, 1890, to the end of 1894, 224 houses were "represented" as unfit for habitation--gruesome pictures of dirt, dilapidation, and insanitation of every form and variety, and this, too, after nearly forty years of sanitary work by the Vestry. Many were closed by order of the magistrate, some by the owner, some pulled down, some repaired and re-let. Part III. of the Act embodied the idea, originally started by Lord Shaftesbury in 1851, as to the erection of labouring classes' lodging-houses by the local authorities, and grafted several amendments thereon. Power was given for the acquisition by the Council of land for the purpose of erecting lodging-houses thereon. Such land, however, was to be within the Council's jurisdiction. Under this part of the Act the Council erected a common lodging-house in Parker Street for the accommodation of over 300 persons. It also acquired several sites, including the Millbank estate, upon which it proceeded to build houses; and one of 38 acres at Lower Tooting for the erection of cottages thereon. Altogether the work performed under the Act was considerable, and the housing for the accommodation of the working classes made sensible progress, the sites sold by the Metropolitan Board of Works to trusts, and public companies, and private persons, having been built upon and covered with artizans' dwellings. Private building was proceeding at considerable pace, and in many parts of London the ground was becoming more overcrowded than ever with houses.