NATIONAL PLAGUE SPOTS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1330, 6 January 1912, Page 6

NATIONAL PLAGUE SPOTS.

The necessity, for State aid in wiping out slum'areas was urged by-Colonel Sir A. Gri'ffith-Boscawen in a letter to "The Times" in September last. He .said:— "Slum clearances ate costly luxuries which local ;aulhorities ca;n only indulge in very occasionally; yet tho continued existence of. the slum is a national peril which should be removed at once. Other authorities besides London have been appalled at the cost, and some, like Birmingham; have thought it wiser to proceed' mora gradually, using the powers they possess under I'art 11. of the principal Act. of closing and demolishing single. insanitary houses at a time. I do not see, however, how in this way it is possible to d<*al with -large slum'areas, tho wholo of which wants replanning; and in any case it must be a-very slow process. No doubt the cost of elcaruncc schemes might-be somewhat reduced by one or two amendments*of tho principal Act. . . . The chief point to recognise, however, is that the prompt removal of these plague spots is a national necessity, that it is far too important a matter to be left entirely to the localities, and that in any case-the cost is beyond what the ratepayer can be, or ought to be, expected to bear. In other words, we must have \Statp aid' for this great reform. A niil-lio.n_u-.vcar devoted to this-purpose would do. infinitely more pood than twice this sum devoted to sanatoria. Of course the ratepayer must contribute too. The.Stale should pay half the. net cost of a scheme improved by tho central and local authorities and the ratepayers the other half. The Stale would also possess, as it docs in theory now-, coercive powers, which could bo exorcised where local authorities refused to'act. Surely this is not. an unreasonable demand. Wo have State aid for all sorts of purposes nowadays, including the straightening out of roads for the benefit of motorists. Excellent as this awl other objects are, they are of infinitely'.less'importance than the clearing away' of the slums. By the continued, existence of these plague spots w'e are producing a race of peoplo physically, menr tally, and 'morally degraded, and the sooner wo remove this reproach' to our civilisation the .bettor.