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New legislation
782
N e w Legislation
:P.bUcHe.~t~
N E W LEGISLATION. SESSION 1899. .
Ws propose to briefly refer to the principal provisions of the Acts of the last Session of Parliament which have a bearing on public health work, or concern medical officers of health. Local Goverm~zent Act, 1899.--It is not easy to forecast what influence the conversion of London sanitary authorities (now vestries and district boards) into municipal boroughs will have in promoting and widening the sanitary supervision of the Metropolis. If the commissioners appointed under the Act to settle questions of boundaries, etc., are allowed to carry out their work without interference on political or other insufficient grounds, it seems probable that the boundaries of the new boroughs will follow lines more suited to efficient administration, and that many anomalies of division now existing will disappear. How far the representatives of the people will become infused with a truly public spirit, encouraging them to come forward to efficiently administer the Acts, remains to be seen. As regards medical officers of health, the only new duties which will apparently be imposed on them will be those under Section 6 (4), which deal with the registration and supervision of dairies, milk-shops, slaughter-houses, knackers' yards, and offensive businesses. Such officers as may be compulsorily retired, or voluntarily relinquish office in accordance with the terms of Section 30 (1), are secured compensation allowances under the same section. The Act comes into force November 1st, 1900, unless an order be made fixing an earlier or later date.
Metropolis Management Acts Amendment (Bye-laws) Act, 1899. --Under Section 202 of the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855, the London County Council have the power to make bye-laws for regulating the construction of drains and other matters. It was held that the section named gave no power to require the deposit of plans of new drains, not being drains of houses about to be built (dealt with under Section 78 of the Act of 1855), and the Council promoted this Act. The bye-laws will, therefore, require the deposit of plans, sections and particulars of all constructions, reconstructions, or alterations of any pipes, drains, or other means of connection with sewers, subject to the proviso that such plans shall not be required to be deposited " i n the case of any repair which does not involve the alteration or the entire reconstruction of
September, 1899]
N e w Legislation
783
any pipe, drain, or other means of communicating with sewers, or the traps and the apparatus connected therewith," or "before the work is commenced in any ease in which the alteration of the drains must be carried out at once "; but the bye-laws may require plans to be subsequently required within a limited (not specified) time from the commencement of the work. It would have been desirable that the Act should have required written notice of such urgent work to have been given to the local authority before commencement, but perhaps the bye-laws may provide for the same.
Infectious Diseases (Notification) Extensior~ Act, 1899.--Under this Act notification will be universally compulsory throughout England and Wales after the first day of January next. By Section 2 of the Act Huddersfield is expressly exempted from the sub-section 2 of the first section of this Act, which repeals the provisions of all local Acts dealing with notification. This exemption was granted apparently as a compliment for being the first town to secure notification, and because the provisions of the local Act differ as regards fees and compulsory removal to hospital of infectious patients from the provisions of the general Act. With this exception, notification will be not only universal but uniform. We trust that the Local Government Board will be able to secure the extension of the system of weekly returns to all the chief eentres of the country, and to issue in addition a quarterly return to supplement the weekly. NEw WEr~LS.--I desire to draw attention again to a point first demonstrated by me in my report for 1895, and amply confirmed by subsequent experience. It should be of considerable interest to landowners especially. I refer to the frequency with which new wells are found to be contaminated, as evidenced principally by the presence of great excess of free and albuminoid ammonia. Wells yielding water of this description are commonly condemned without hesitation. In the case of new wells sunk in properly selected ground, this is a mistake of the first magnitude, as it has been found repeatedly that the pollution is temporary, and disappears completely after the lapse of a few months. This of itself is sufficient to dispose of the question whether analysts should or should not have information supplied them as to source, etc., of samples sent them for analysis; that is to say, if, in addition to giving the mere results of their analysis, they are expected to pronounce a decisive opinion upon them. There is little doubt that new wells have been condemned unjustly over and over again, and this, in my belief, accounts in great measure for the difficulty experienced in some places in finding water that will "pass the analyst." The very anxiety to make sure of the quality of an underground water before going to much expense about it is often the reason why good water cannot be got. Trial wells are hastily dug here and there, samples are sent for analysis, and one after another is promptly condemned as unfit for use. Then the thing is given up in despair.--R. W. I). MacMartin Cameron, M.D., Wigton and Kirkcudbright C.C., A.R., 1898.
N e w Legislation
:P.bUcHe.~t~
N E W LEGISLATION. SESSION 1899. .
Ws propose to briefly refer to the principal provisions of the Acts of the last Session of Parliament which have a bearing on public health work, or concern medical officers of health. Local Goverm~zent Act, 1899.--It is not easy to forecast what influence the conversion of London sanitary authorities (now vestries and district boards) into municipal boroughs will have in promoting and widening the sanitary supervision of the Metropolis. If the commissioners appointed under the Act to settle questions of boundaries, etc., are allowed to carry out their work without interference on political or other insufficient grounds, it seems probable that the boundaries of the new boroughs will follow lines more suited to efficient administration, and that many anomalies of division now existing will disappear. How far the representatives of the people will become infused with a truly public spirit, encouraging them to come forward to efficiently administer the Acts, remains to be seen. As regards medical officers of health, the only new duties which will apparently be imposed on them will be those under Section 6 (4), which deal with the registration and supervision of dairies, milk-shops, slaughter-houses, knackers' yards, and offensive businesses. Such officers as may be compulsorily retired, or voluntarily relinquish office in accordance with the terms of Section 30 (1), are secured compensation allowances under the same section. The Act comes into force November 1st, 1900, unless an order be made fixing an earlier or later date.
Metropolis Management Acts Amendment (Bye-laws) Act, 1899. --Under Section 202 of the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855, the London County Council have the power to make bye-laws for regulating the construction of drains and other matters. It was held that the section named gave no power to require the deposit of plans of new drains, not being drains of houses about to be built (dealt with under Section 78 of the Act of 1855), and the Council promoted this Act. The bye-laws will, therefore, require the deposit of plans, sections and particulars of all constructions, reconstructions, or alterations of any pipes, drains, or other means of connection with sewers, subject to the proviso that such plans shall not be required to be deposited " i n the case of any repair which does not involve the alteration or the entire reconstruction of
September, 1899]
N e w Legislation
783
any pipe, drain, or other means of communicating with sewers, or the traps and the apparatus connected therewith," or "before the work is commenced in any ease in which the alteration of the drains must be carried out at once "; but the bye-laws may require plans to be subsequently required within a limited (not specified) time from the commencement of the work. It would have been desirable that the Act should have required written notice of such urgent work to have been given to the local authority before commencement, but perhaps the bye-laws may provide for the same.
Infectious Diseases (Notification) Extensior~ Act, 1899.--Under this Act notification will be universally compulsory throughout England and Wales after the first day of January next. By Section 2 of the Act Huddersfield is expressly exempted from the sub-section 2 of the first section of this Act, which repeals the provisions of all local Acts dealing with notification. This exemption was granted apparently as a compliment for being the first town to secure notification, and because the provisions of the local Act differ as regards fees and compulsory removal to hospital of infectious patients from the provisions of the general Act. With this exception, notification will be not only universal but uniform. We trust that the Local Government Board will be able to secure the extension of the system of weekly returns to all the chief eentres of the country, and to issue in addition a quarterly return to supplement the weekly. NEw WEr~LS.--I desire to draw attention again to a point first demonstrated by me in my report for 1895, and amply confirmed by subsequent experience. It should be of considerable interest to landowners especially. I refer to the frequency with which new wells are found to be contaminated, as evidenced principally by the presence of great excess of free and albuminoid ammonia. Wells yielding water of this description are commonly condemned without hesitation. In the case of new wells sunk in properly selected ground, this is a mistake of the first magnitude, as it has been found repeatedly that the pollution is temporary, and disappears completely after the lapse of a few months. This of itself is sufficient to dispose of the question whether analysts should or should not have information supplied them as to source, etc., of samples sent them for analysis; that is to say, if, in addition to giving the mere results of their analysis, they are expected to pronounce a decisive opinion upon them. There is little doubt that new wells have been condemned unjustly over and over again, and this, in my belief, accounts in great measure for the difficulty experienced in some places in finding water that will "pass the analyst." The very anxiety to make sure of the quality of an underground water before going to much expense about it is often the reason why good water cannot be got. Trial wells are hastily dug here and there, samples are sent for analysis, and one after another is promptly condemned as unfit for use. Then the thing is given up in despair.--R. W. I). MacMartin Cameron, M.D., Wigton and Kirkcudbright C.C., A.R., 1898.