The explanation was, that in the administration of this, absolutely the most important of all branches of the housing problem of London, the London County Council, had been left entirely out--had not even been given a voice in the framing of the bye-laws or regulations, and therefore had no legal power to act. Regulations or bye-laws, drafted by the Local Government Board as "models" for adoption by the local authorities, suggested "exemptions" to what Parliament had directed--though there was not a single word in the 94th Section or in any part of the Act to justify such a suggestion--or suggested phrases in them which actually placed the enforcement or non-enforcement of the Act in the discretion of those authorities, this, too, though Parliament had made the explicit imperative enactment that these local authorities should make and enforce regulations. Most of the Vestries made bye-laws under Section 94 of the Act, nearly all containing exemption or elusive clauses as suggested; some even avowedly reserving to themselves the option of registering or not registering houses, as they thought fit. The London County Council was not in a position to act in their default, as these authorities could shelter themselves under the option contained in the terms of the regulations, and a representation to the Local Government Board would have been useless, as the same defence would be effectively made by the local authorities if called to account. Thus, the deliberate enactment of Parliament was frustrated; the Act was prevented being a remedy for overcrowding, or even a protection against it, and except in a few parishes or districts where the great advantages of the Act were appreciated, all the dreadful evils of overcrowding were given free play, and allowed to flourish on as gigantic a scale as ever. The effects of the inaction of the Vestries and District Boards were unfortunately not confined to the moment. A legacy of suffering, of misery, and physical deterioration was left to subsequent generations. Once more might hundreds of thousands of voices of the victims and sufferers have cried out: "While you remain inactive, death and disease do not."[180] A special census of the population of London was taken on March 29, 1896, which showed that the population had increased to 4,443,018 persons, being an increase of 200,900; and the number of inhabited houses from 547,120 to 553,119. As years had gone by, and the necessity and importance of sanitation had become more widely recognised, and as London had grown in size and increased in population, the duties of the Vestries had grown heavier, and the tendency of legislation was to broaden the basis of their action.