32 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



Report of the Commissioners has produced an impression in the 

 official mind that the whole subject has been adequately dealt 

 with. Another most unfortunate result of all this imperfect 

 research is the growing scepticism with regard to bacteriological 

 methods — I shall refer to this later. And one is tantalised by 

 the evident fact that exact knowledge of the role and distribu- 

 tion of intestinal micro-organisms in nature is only a matter of 

 sufficient well-planned investigation. I have said that re- 

 markably little of such investigation has been carried out in 

 this country since the publication of Part III of the Report of 

 the Sewage Commission. The fact, however, that some in- 

 vestigations of the greatest possible value and promise have 

 been made in this country by A. McConkey, and by Clemesha 

 in India, shows that we need not wait longer for the knowledge 

 that we require than the period necessary to arrange and equip 

 research work. This must not be the traditional laboratory 

 bacteriological investigation of the past, but research into the 

 actual natural conditions under which bacteria exist in nature — 

 research such as that made by Clemesha. 



We may consider now how matters actually stand with 

 regard to administration. The Sewage Commission in an 

 interim report published in 1904 (over ten years ago !) recom- 

 mended strongly the formation of a new central authority and 

 a series of local boards. The local boards were to take cog- 

 nisance each of a natural drainage area, and to them was to be 

 committed all matters dealing with sewerage, as well as the 

 control of the shell-fisheries in so far as these affected the public 

 health by reason of sewage contamination. The Central Board 

 was to exercise a general control over the local authorities. 

 There was to be a scientific staff attached to each board — a 

 staff the duty of which was apparently to be very much like 

 that of the county and city chemical and bacteriological 

 laboratories at present existing in relation to the Foods and 

 Drugs Acts. It is doubtful whether the Commissioners ever 

 contemplated the provision of a scheme of scientific research 

 pure and simple ; and it seems to be the case that they thought 

 that the necessary knowledge of the distribution in nature, the 

 significance, and the means of recognising intestinal micro- 

 organisms was already in existence. Nothing therefore re- 

 mained to be done but to create administrative machinery and 

 provide the necessary technical staffs for routine analyses and 



