THE HOUSING QUESTION
69
" Where people do not do their duty in all walks of life we
impose special conditions. I would like to ask the critics who
described this power as that of an Oriental potentate what is
going to happen ? Here we are prepared to find millions of
money to assist in building houses, and if, in a certain area which
shows that a certain need exists, the authority responsible for
dealing with that area is not disposed to try to meet these needs,
what are we going to do? Are we to stand by and do nothing?
because that is the alternative. It is clear that the only thing
we can do under such circumstances is to invite somebody else
to step in and do the work. We propose that it may be the County
Council, or it may be the central Government Department."
But by April, 1921, the Cabinet had side-tracked
Dr. Addison and his inconvenient desire to build
houses. In that month, Sir Alfred Mond, the new
Minister of Health, when addressing a deputation of
the Association of Municipal Corporations, said:—
" I think it would be premature to deal with the question now,
but all I can say is that, as far as we are concerned, the default
powers, which, of course, are rightly inserted in the Act to deal
with people who should have moved, are not going to be used
to compel local authorities to carry out ruinous schemes."
As an example of Sir Alfred Mond’s methods of
using the powers Parliament has given him and making
Local Authorities do their duty, the case of St. Ives,
in Cornwall, is of interest. In 1920, the Council
determined to build 130 houses, employed an architect,
obtained tenders, got them approved by the Ministry
and actually signed contracts with the builders. In
November, 1920, a new Council was elected, unfriendly
to housing. Their problem was how to evade the
signed contracts of their predecessors. They appealed
