ABSTRACT
It was clear by the 1870s that the burdens placed on local administration were insupportable. The plethora of jurisdictions in sanitation and public health resulted in waste, inefficiency and unacceptable variations in practice. Disraeli’s minority government had appointed a Royal Commission to inquire into the problem of sanitation in 1868. Under the Chairmanship of the Tory politician Charles B. Adderley (1814–1905), it reported in 1871 and recommended greater central direction though arguing that in doing so the sacred principle of local autonomy would remain inviolate (10a). The Liberal government’s response was to establish the Local Government Board, which unified the administration of poor law and public health. For the government, James Stansfeld (1820–28) argued that local powers were strengthened rather than diminished by the change. The only opposition came from Tory backbenchers like F.W. Knight (1812–27) who feared the creeping tentacles of centralized bureaucracy (10b).
