12 MAY 1866, Page 2

A meeting was held at the Marquis Townshend's on Wed-

nesday, to consider the evils arising from overcrowding in London and the remedy proposed by the "Operatives' House-Building Company," an advertisement of which will be found in another column. It was explained by one of the most active of the directors, Mr. Hodgson Pratt, at the meeting, that though they had founded the company with the intention of getting a fair interest on the money invested, they wished to attract share- holders who had a humane as well as a commercial interest in the work, though they might not be able to afford to lose alto- gether a moderate interest on their capital. The object is to build houses not that will compete in profit with the bad homes which the London builders crowd over every available inch of room— and out of which they expect to make upwards of 12 per cent.— but. that will far surpass them in healthiness and comfort, and yield a moderate profit also. The plans proposed by the company are for the erection of buildings which, while quite as good as those of Alderman Waterlow, will cost considerably less; and the directors count confidently therefore on 5 or 6 per cent., and hope for a larger dividend. The most striking feature of the scheme is, as we have noticed before, to associate working men in the under- taking as shareholders and on the directorate. The scheme has been submitted to several large meetings of operatives in the south of London, and been warmly approved by them. Several operatives have applied for the B shares, on which, we believe, they pay instalments of 6d. a week, and the company has obtained a site for its operations in Old Pye Street, Westminster, just behind Victoria Street, and proposes to erect thereon two blocks of houses, to be let in suites, each suite containing two bed-rooms, a sitting room, and offices. The plan certainly deserves full success.