7 56 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[March 16,1872. 
pwlraentanj ani gtato f meetings. 
ABSTRACT OF A BILL TO AMEND THE LAW 
RELATING- TO PUBLIC HEALTH. 
(Prepared and brought in by Mr. Stan sfeld , Mr. Secretary ' 
Bruce and Mr. Ilibbert.) 
The provisions of this Bill are not to apply to Scot¬ 
land or Ireland. England is to he divided into sanitary 
districts,—urban and rural,—respectively subject to the 
jurisdiction of local authorities empowered to exercise 
authority in all the matters affecting public health, 
which have hitherto been dealt with by various local 
boards. Every such urban authority is to appoint a 
medical officer, and every such rural authority is to ap¬ 
point one or more medical officers and inspectors of nui¬ 
sances. The Bill also provides for the suppression of 
nuisances affecting the purity of streams, and gives sani¬ 
tary authorities power to take proceedings in respect to : 
their pollution. It imposes the duty of providing for 
proper cleansing of streets, removal of house refuse, etc., 
under a maximum penalty of ten shillings a day on con¬ 
viction of default in the case of any inmate or occupier 
of a house who has given written notice to the sanitary 
authority for the execution of each duty. The pro¬ 
visions of the Nuisances Removal Act are to extend to 
unwholesome milk and tea. Sellers of food proved to be 
diseased, unsound or unwholesome are, on conviction, to 
be liable to a maximum penalty of twenty pounds, and 
warrants may be obtained to search for such food on 
complaint by a medical officer of health. 
Clause 47 provides that “ the penalty imposed in re¬ 
spect of the adulteration of food or drink by the first 
section of the Food Adulteration Act shall be a sum not 
exceeding twenty pounds , instead of a sum not exceeding 
five pounds ; and the said section shall be amended 
by substituting the words £ a penalty not exceeding 
twenty pounds ’ for the words ‘ a penalty not exceeding- 
five pounds.’ ” 
Powers are also given to the sanitary authorities to 
close foul wells and to prohibit the occupation of build¬ 
ings unfit for human habitation, to take steps for abate¬ 
ment of nuisances, to deal with water supply by pur¬ 
chasing water, carrying water mains without' their dis¬ 
tricts and otherwise; and in regard to this subject— 
Clause 53 provides that “the water supplied in and to 
every sanitary district or any part thereof for drinking 
or domestic purposes, whether by the sanitary authority 
itself or by any waterworks company or person, shall be 
effectually filtered when necessary, and shall be free 
from any impurities rendering it unwholesome, or in¬ 
jurious, or dangerous to health. 
“If at any time the water supplied by any sanitary 
authority, company, or person, for drinking or domestic ! 
purposes, is as to purity not in accordance with the con¬ 
ditions prescribed by this section, such sanitary authority, 
company, or person shall in every such case be liable to 
a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds unless the sanitary 
authority, company, or person can prove that such defect 
in purity could not have been guarded against by such , 
sanitary authority, company or person : Provided always, 
that nothing in this section contained shall relieve the 
sanitary authority, company, or person from liability to 
any other proceedings under this or any other Act of 
Parliament or at common law: Provided also that it 
shall be the duty of every sanitary authority to enforce the I 
provisions of this section against any company or person I 
supplying water within its district.” 
Urban sanitary authorities are to have power to light 
their districts with gas under certain conditions. 
Sanitary authorities are to be under the obligation of 
providing “a proper place or places furnished with proper 
apparatus and service for disinfection of clothes and Other 
articles, with a proper carriage or carriages for the con¬ 
veyance of infected persons, and with sufficient hospital 
accommodation for persons affected by dangerous infec- I 
tious, contagious, or epidemic diseases, together with 
medical assistance, medicines, attendance, and all other 
requisites for the maintenance, cure, and comfort of 
patients in hospitals ; and such sanitary authority shall 
have power to direct the destruction of any bedding, 
clothing, or other articles which have been exposed to* 
infection from any dangerous infectious disorder, and to 
give compensation for the same.” 
They may, where expedient, also direct the fitting up 
and furnishing of dispensaries, the provision of proper 
medicines, appliances and requisites for the medical and 
surgical treatment of the sick poor relieved out of the- 
workhouses of unions, the supply of medicines during- 
epidemics, and otherwise act with hospital authorities- 
and guardians as to the arrangements of hospitals. 
“ Every urban sanitary authority shall, if required by 
the Local Government Board, provide within its district- 
a proper place for the reception of dead bodies.” 
Returns of sickness may also be obtained by the sani¬ 
tary authority, and it is to be the duty of the medical 
officers to make such returns. 
Clauses 62 to 64 deal with the subject of analysts as- 
follows:— 
“ 62. Every sanitary authority shall cause the water 
supplied for drinking or domestic purposes within its dis¬ 
trict, whether by itself or by any waterworks company 
or by any person, to be analysed at such times as the 
Local Government Board may direct. 
“ For the purpose of obtaining samples of the water se 
supplied, any analyst or duly authorized officer of the 
sanitary authority may enter upon any lands occupied 
by such waterworks company or person so supplying 
water, and may take and carry away samples of the 
water so supplied, and any person refusing admission te 
or obstructing any such analyst or duly authorized officer 
as aforesaid in the performance of his duties under this 
section shall, in addition to any other punishment to 
which he may be subject, be liable to a penalty not ex¬ 
ceeding forty shillings. 
“63. It shall be the duty of every sanitary authority to 
cause to be analysed, in conformity with any directions 
issued by the Local Government Board, any sewage 
matter, or filthy or noxious water or washings of manu¬ 
factories, or other polluting liquid falling or flowing into 
any stream within its district. * 
“ 64. Any analysis required or authorized by this Act, 
or by the Food Adulteration Act, may be made by an 
analyst appointed in pursuance of the Food Adulteration 
Act, or with the consent of the Local Government Board 
by an officer of that Board. 
“ The Local Government Board may make regulations 
under which purchasers of any article of food or drink 
may apply to the Local Government Board to have such 
analysis as is provided for in the Food Adulteration Act 
conducted by an officer of that Board. 
“ There shall be paid to the Local Government Board, 
for each analysis made by an officer of the Local Go¬ 
vernment Board, such fee by the authority or person 
requiring the analysis as the Local Government Board 
may determine.” 
The remaining clauses of the Act refer to miscella¬ 
neous details concerning the election of local boards, the 
settlement of differences, default of sanitary authority 
in performance of duty, compulsory powers, the raising 
of money on the rates, legal proceedings, saving clauses 
and definitions of terms, etc. 
BILL FOR CONSOLIDATING AND AMENDING 
ALL THE LAWS ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR ENGLAND AND 
WALES, EXCLUSIVE OF THE METROPOLIS. 
This Bill, which is brought in by Sir Charles Adder- 
ley, Mr. Russell Gurney, Mr. Whitbread, Mr. Stephen 
Cave, Lord Robert Montagu, Mr. Richards and Mr. 
Powell, is much more comprehensive in its details. The 
