The proceedings against Mr. Justice Grantham before the Lewes Justices
have ended in most confused and unsatisfac- tory action by the Magistrates. The Bench found that the defendant had sufficiently complied with some of the by-laws but not with others. At the same time, it seemed to them that the defendant's plans were intended by him to indicate that the buildings be proposed to erect would conform to the requirements, and if he had failed in some particulars it had been duo to misapprehension. The Bench further expressed the hope that it would not be necessary for them to come to a more definite decision. In reply to Mr. Justice Grantham's counsel, they refused to dismiss the summonses. On behalf of Mr. Justice Grantham, it was intimated that he could not be a party to any compromise. In this determination Sir William Grantham is, we think, entirely justified. He is not engaged in a private or per- sonal squabble, or pursuing what Tennyson called "petty spites of the village squire," but vindicating the very important principle that building by-laws shall not be allowed to prevent the supply of cheap cottages. If, in addition to a 1 per cent. investment, landlords who try to solve the problem of rural housing are to be exposed to prosecution in the police-courts, can we wonder that the supply of country cottages has almost stopped P We hope that the Exhibition of Cheap Cottages, the objects of which have been described in these columns, will, besides showing various ways in which cottage construction can be cheapened, show how ridiculous and how obstructive are the existing building by-laws.
Bank Rate, 3 per cent.
Consols (2- per cent.) were on Friday 88k.
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