MOTION FOR PAPERS. (Hansard, 1 March 1888)

§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (Viscount CROSS)
, in moving for a— 1812 Return from the Commissioners of Sewers from the Metropolitan Board of Works, and from such Urban Sanitary Authorities as have received official representations under the Artizans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Acts, 1875–85, of the number of official representations made to them; of the numbers, size, and localities of the areas regarding which resolutions under section three have been passed or for which improvement schemes have been made; of the stage which each improvement scheme has reached; and of any moneys borrowed for the purposes of the Acts; showing the estimated and actual cost of each scheme; also giving the date of each official representation, and of each improvement scheme; copy of any official correspondence which has taken place between the confirming authority and any local authority since the date of the last Return in cases where resolutions have been passed but no improvement scheme has been proceeded with; similar Returns from Ireland and Scotland; and also showing the number of persons that maybe housed on ground cleared since the passing of the Acts, said, it was satisfactory to know that 22 schemes had already been passed by the Metropolitan Board, under which 25,850 persons were housed, and there were other schemes under consideration which would house 6,800 more. If to these were added the schemes passed by the Corporation of the City of London a total of 33,600 persons was reached as the number now enjoying the benefits of these Acts. Many plots of ground had been taken by the Peabody trustees and built upon. He saw the Chairman of the trustees (the Earl of Derby) present. It would be interesting if the noble Earl would inform the House how much money had been expended in building under the trust, how many persons were accommodated, and what were the average wages of the persons who resided in these buildings. For there had been some idea prevalent that they were not being occupied by the class whom the trust was established to benefit. It had also been said that a notion prevailed that the inmates were subject to supervision, and that the fear of this supervision kept artizans away. It would be well if the noble Earl could give the House some information on this point also.

§ THE EARL OF DERBY
said, he was very glad to give such information as lay in his power respecting the working of the Peabody Trusts, but he had very little more to give than appeared in their report now being circulated. The trusts had existed nearly 25 years since their original inception. During that time the trustees had expended something more than £1,200,000, of which between £300,000 and £400,000 was borrowed money. The accommodation provided amounted to 11,151 rooms, and they were occupied by 20,279 persons, and the rooms included 5,014 separate dwellings — speaking roundly 11,000 rooms and 20,000 persons were accommodated in thorn. He was asked whether there had been any objection on the part of the classes for whom the buildings were intended, on the ground of undue supervision. He believed that when lodging houses were erected by public companies there was some suspicion of too much supervision, but he did not know that it was ever felt in regard to the Peabody Trustees' buildings, though if there ever was any such feeling it did not exist now, because they had not a single vacancy in any building, and there were always many competitors for any vacancy when it occurred. As regards the class of persons who inhabited the buildings, he might state that the average earnings of heads of families was a little over 23s. per week, while the average rent per room was a little under 2s. 2d. per week, and the average rent per dwelling a little over 4s. 9d. per week. As to the occupations of the tenants, the report gave a table of every family. The largest class to which the heads of families belonged was that of labourers. These numbered 667; porters, 524; 1814 needlewomen, 311; charwomen, 282; tailors, 105; carmen, 210; and other occupations were represented in smaller proportions. They all appeared to belong to the working classes, and not as a rule to the highly-paid section of that class. The Peabody Trust, it should be borne in mind, was not established to provide a kind of modified almshouses. He had been one of the original trustees consulted by Mr. Peabody himself, and he could say this of his own knowledge. In the early days of the trusts, Mr. Peabody consulted with his then trustees; the present plan was then adopted with his personal sanction, and it had been adhered to ever since. In one of their reports there was a letter from Mr. Peabody which showed that he approved of the administration of the trusts. Reference had sometimes been made to the supposed large profits which the trust was making. The object of the trustees throughout had been to secure neither more nor less than a return of 3 per cent, and taking the whole working of the trusts until now, the net returns had been rather below than above that figure. If any other statement should be required, he would have much pleasure in making it on behalf of the trustees. He could not help saying that the trustees were greatly assisted by the Government, of which the noble Viscount (Viscount Cross) was a Member, for enabling them to enlarge the amount of their capital. The trustees had expended the whole of their money, and had borrowed between £300,000 and £400,000, the greater part of it from the Government, and that money had been of very material assistance to them in enabling them to carry out their plans—while in that transaction there was absolutely no risk to the State—indeed, it was a gainer to a small extent, and the security was ample to cover the debt.

§ LORD NORTON
said, as nothing was more undesirable than that almost all the poor people in London should fall into arrear for rent and contract bad debts, it would be interesting to know from the noble Earl how far successful the Peabody Trustees had been in introducing and enforcing, as they had a great opportunity, a better habit of short and punctual payments of rent, and so preventing that unfortunate practice.

§ THE EARL OF DERBY
said, he entirely agreed with the noble Lord in the doctrine he had laid down, and so also did his colleagues. He did not think it was any exaggeration to say, on behalf of the Peabody Trust, that there were no bad debts and no arrears of rent.