We had drafted an
amending Bill for rural districts in 1895, which was read a first time
in the House of Commons on the day of the vote on the supply of cordite,
when the defeat of the Liberal Government led to the dissolution of
Parliament.
The Act of 1890 was singular in one respect. Part III was headed
"Working-Class Lodging Houses," and was drafted accordingly, but the
definition of lodging-houses was made to include cottages with not more
than half an acre of garden, thus enabling houses to be provided by
local authorities in town and country, apart from clearances of
insanitary areas. For years this definition was overlooked, and very few
people were aware that cottages could be built in rural districts by the
Guardians, and later by Rural District Councils. Our Leaflet No. 63,
"Parish Council Cottages," issued in 1895, was almost the first
publication drawing attention to the subject, and with one exception no
use was made of these powers of the Act in rural districts before that
year. Our Tract 76, "Houses for the People," published in 1897,
explained the Act in simple language, and was widely circulated.
In 1900 an amending Act, chiefly to simplify procedure in rural
districts, was promised by the Government; and the conference we called
was intended to agitate for widening its scope and strengthening its
provisions. The papers, read by Clement Edwards (afterwards M.
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