NEEDED AMENDMENTS IN BRITISH LEGISLATION 471 



(Scotland) Act of 1866, local authorities are enabled to prevent the 

 sale of milk from diseased tuberculous cows, and to make stringent 

 regulations for dairies and byres. 



Legislation in Ireland 



In Ireland there is not so much of what may be termed special 

 legislation for the protection of the milk supply. The ordinar>' 

 Acts (the Public Health Act, Contagious Diseases Act, Dairies, 

 Cowsheds and Milk-shops Orders, etc.) are the only legislation 

 available. Under the Public Health (Ireland) xA-ct, 1896, the 

 Irish Local Government Board is able to invest a rural sanitary 

 authority with exceptional powers. The Board issues various 

 orders and circulars, and in 1899 special orders were made in 

 respect to tuberculosis. 



Needed Amendments in British Legislation. 



In a volume like the present criticisms of a passing or evanescent interest 

 are perhaps out of place, and for this reason we have abstained in this chapter 

 from entering, in detail, into anything other than matters of fact. It may be 

 desirable, however, to remark that it appears that legislation in Great Britain 

 in respect to milk is by no means as uniform or as consistent with modem 

 knowledge and science as it ought to be. There seem to be a number of 

 points demanding the attention of the legislature in respect to this article of food. 

 But by far the most important requirement is an enforcement of the present law. 

 For example, unless regulations under the Dairies Order are adopted, and their 

 adoption is optional, it seems that a cow may be housed under ver)' unsatis- 

 factory conditions within the area of jurisdiction of the Local Authority failing 

 to adopt regulations. The regulations are a sort of crystallisation of the 

 principles of the Order, and in a vast number of districts the Order would be 

 almost meaningless without regulations. Again, the 1899 Order only extends 

 to tuberculosis in respect of mixing milk and selling it for human consumption. 

 It still leaves the Local Authority without any power to make regulations for 

 the inspection of tubercular cattle in dairies, and no power to prohibit the feed- 

 ing of animals on tuberculous milk, although it is known that by such means 

 tuberculosis may be spread. The Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, 1886, 

 Section 94, gives a Local Authority right of entry on premises, within its district, 

 for purposes of the Dairies Order. But here again there is no application to 

 tuberculosis, and hence the Local Authority cannot enter to examine for tuber- 

 cular udders. The Act of 1886 applies, moreover, only to urban and rural 



