( 596 ) [Oct., 



THE PUBLIC HEALTH. 



(With the Proceedings of the Health Section of the Social Science 



Association.) 



Whatever may be the result of the elections to Parliament under 

 the new Eeform Bill, there is one comfort in the prospect that our 

 sanitary legislation can hardly get to a lower ebb than it is just 

 now. It is perhaps to be hoped that as the people who have now 

 the electoral power conferred upon them are those who suffer most 

 from bad sanitary arrangements, this subject will not wholly escape 

 their attention in the selection of candidates to represent them 

 in Parliament. If this be the case we may hope to see some 

 men returned who have a notion of the value, economically we 

 mean, of human hfe, and who will apply themselves to intro- 

 ducing law and order into that chaos of conflicting legislation, 

 winch a well-meaning but incapable legislature has introduced for 

 the purpose of preserving the health and lives of Her Majesty's 

 lieges. 



In our last number we referred to the Vaccination Bill and 

 Mr. Torrens's Artizans' Dwellings Bill : the latter was withdrawn 

 at the eleventh hour from pressure of business, whilst the former is 

 now passed into law with all its defects. It is to be hoped that it 

 may do good. It is, however, encumbered with a principle that is 

 new to our legislation. Should the medical profession agree to take 

 the Government eighteen pence for vaccination, if they do the thing 

 well at this price, they are to have the chance of getting rewarded 

 by an extra payment. The " payment by result " scheme of South 

 Kensington is to be tried in vaccination, and the medical men who do 

 this duty very well are to be rewarded as good boys at school, — with 

 prizes. This plan is nothing more nor less than an acknowledg- 

 ment that the sum offered for vaccination is no professional 

 recompense, and that if medical men will undertake the operation 

 for the small sum offered, they shall be rewarded if they perform 

 it properly, which there is no right to expect at the price they 

 are paid. We hope the medical profession will universally spurn 

 this bribe, and show the Government that they can perform 

 their duties without such a stimulus. We should like to see the 

 President of the Privy Council, its Vice-President, and Medical 

 Officer put on a system of " payment by results," before it is intro- 

 duced amongst the great body of the medical profession. 



The ninth annual report of the medical officer of the Privy 

 Council has been printed, and two journals, the ' Pall Mall Gazette ' 



