The Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 36) or the Cross Act was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

Richard Cross Richard Cross is the name of: Politicians *Richard Cross (died c. 1438), MP for Reading (UK Parliament constituency) *R. A. Cross, 1st Viscount Cross (1823–1914), British statesman and Conservative politician Others *Richard Cross (actor) (fl. ...

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

during

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

's second

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Government, which involved allowing local councils to buy up areas of slum dwellings in order to clear and then rebuild them. It formed part of Disraeli's

social reform Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

initiative aimed at the "elevation of the people" (the

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

), a policy stated in his 1872 speeches at

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and Crystal Palace, and associated with his doctrine of

One Nation Conservatism One-nation conservatism, also known as one-nationism or Tory democracy, is a form of British political conservatism and a variant of paternalistic conservatism. It advocates the "preservation of established institutions and traditional prin ...

. Also, key individuals, such as the philanthropist

Octavia Hill Octavia Hill (3December 183813August 1912) was an English Reform movement, social reformer and founder of the National Trust. Her main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London, in the second half of the nineteent ...

, helped pressurise the government into passing the Act.

Terms

# Compel owners of slum dwelling to sell to councils, who must provide compensation. # Take advantage of lower than normal interest rates from the government. # Demolish the areas of slum housing to be redeveloped by commercial builders.

Importance

Considered one of the most significant acts of Disraeli's administration (he said it was their "chief measure") the act was a classic example of permissive legislation that typified Disraeli's

social policy Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...

. Councils were not compelled to take action and, due to the obvious cost involved, few did. In fact, by 1881, only 10 out of 87 towns in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

used their permitted powers. The most notable major redevelopment occurred in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

under the prominent, radical Liberal Member of Parliament,

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal Party (UK), Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually was a leading New Imperialism, imperial ...

, founder of the National Liberal Federation. There, it led to the creation of Corporation Street; overall, however, it proved ineffective.

Permissiveness

The Act was permissive, mainly for the protection of property rights. Many felt the Act was an infringement of such rights, including many within the party, who pressured

against making it compulsory. Also, it may have been seen to be an attack on landlords, traditional Tory voters. As well, it was passed in a time that the government adopted a predominantly ''

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...

'' attitude to politics. Disraeli proclaimed in June 1875: "Permissive legislation is the characteristic of a free people".Robert Blake, ''Disraeli'' (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1966), p. 554.

References

*Glen, Alexander. The Artizans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act, 1875: With Introduction, Notes, Appendix of Statutes and Forms, and Index. Re-issued with the Artizans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act, 1879. Knight & Co. Fleet Street, London. 1880
Google Books
*Paterson, William. "Artisans Dwellings Act". The Practical Statutes of the Session 1875. Law Times Office. Wellington Street, Strand, London. 1875. Page
147
to 180. *"Artisans Dwellings" in "Abstracts of Important Acts of Parliament". Companion to the Almanac, or, Year-Book of General Information for the Year 1876. (The British Almanac). Printed for the Company of Stationers. London. 1876. Page
243
and 244. {{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1875 Public housing in the United Kingdom Slums in Europe Housing legislation in the United Kingdom

Terms

Importance

Permissiveness

See also

References