April 13, 1872.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
S35 
Gilbert, Ph.D., F.R.S., and T. Redwood, Ph.D., who 
retire. 
Secretaries —A. Vernon Ilarcourt, M.A., F.R.S., and 
W. II. Perkin, F.R.S. 
Foreign Secretary —H. Miillex*, Ph.D., F.R.S. 
Treasurer —F. A. Abel, F.R.S. 
Other Members of Council —H. Bassett; A. Dupre, 
PhD.; F. Field, F.R.S.; H. M‘Leod; II. E. Roscoc, 
Ph.D., F.R.S.; R. Angus Smith, Ph.D., F.R.S.; A. 
Voelcker, Ph.D., F.R.S.; and A. Crum Brown, D.Sc., 
Dugald Campbell, G. C. Foster, F.R.S., Hermann 
■Sprengol, Ph.D., Thomas Stevenson, M.D.; the five last 
being instead of E. Atkinson, Ph.D., C. L. Bloxam, 
M. Holzmann, Ph.D., E. J. Mills, D.Sc., and W. J. 
Russell, Ph.D., who retire. 
Thursday, April 4th. The President, Dr. Fiiankland, 
F.R.S., in the chair. After the usual business of the 
Society had been transacted, Dr. Sciioklemmer, F.R.S., 
delivered a very interesting lecture “ On the Chemistry 
of the Hydrocarbons,” defining organic chemistry as 
the chemistry of hydrocarbons and their derivatives. 
The characteristic properties of the paraffin, olefine, and 
acetylene series, and their relations one to another were 
discussed, as also those of the great aromatic group, the 
speaker pointing out the great assistance derived from 
the atomic theory in determining both the constitution 
of isomeric compounds, and also the relations existing 
between the various members of the aromatic series. 
After a short discussion the meeting adjourned until 
Thursday, the 18th instant, when it is announced that 
♦eight papers are to be read. 
Iprliitmcntanr anti fato groxecbiitp. 
HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
Friday , April o//q 1872. 
The Public Health Bill. 
Mr. Staxsfell) having moved the second reading of 
the Bill, 
Mr. J. Fielden said there were several points in the 
Bill to which ho took exception. He did not approve of 
the system of controlling the local authorities provided 
by the Bill. Although local authorities were not always 
efficient, the continual interference of a strict central 
.authority would create dissatisfaction and lessen their 
efficiency by driving the most influential and competent 
men from the local Boards. Neither could a uniform 
system be adopted for the whole country. The endea¬ 
vour of the central authority should be to lay down 
sound general principles, and leave it to the local 
authorities to carry out the details. Some alteration, 
too, would be required in the definition of pollution. 
As the Bill at present stood, a whole army of inspectors 
would be required; and the present definition, if carried 
■out, would result in the closing of all manufactures. .The 
.questions of water supply, drainage and river pollution 
were not yet sufficiently understood for legislation. 
There was no doubt that ashes thrown into a river 
•exercised a deodorizing effect, though, perhaps, that 
benefit was more than counterbalanced by the filling up 
of the bod of the river. The plan proposed of letting 
sewage filter through the soil before running into a 
■Diver was quite impracticable in some districts, such as 
the valleys of the West Riding of Yorkshire. He 
thought that if the clauses relating to the pollution of 
livers were not removed, the Bill would run great risk 
of being rejected, or, if carried, would prove to be a 
dead letter in many districts. 
Dr. Playfair twitted the Opposition with its want of 
Interest, as evidenced by the state of the benches, in the 
■cry of sanilas [ sanitation , omnia sanitas , recently raised 
by their leader. He, however, agreed with the right 
honourable gentleman as to the importance of the sub¬ 
ject. He approved of the provision of the Bill, that, 
while in the country districts the guardians of the poor 
became the sanitary authorities, in towns the ordinary 
civic authorities assumed the health functions. Large 
towns were the characteristics of the country, and formed 
the urgent motives for speedy sanitary legislation. 
These towns arc much more numerous now than at the 
commencement of the present century, and were in¬ 
creasing rapidly, outgrowing management by the paro¬ 
chial authorities that were sufficient for the rural dis¬ 
tricts. The 22nd clause provided for the acquirement 
by rural distri’ets of all the powers of urban districts 
when required by altered conditions. There was much 
to be said in favour of the proposition made by some 
influential sanitary associations, that there should be an 
intermediate county authority between the local Boards 
and the central administration, although there would be 
difficulties attending such an arrangement. The main 
advantage of such an enlarged intermediary authority 
would be the securing of a much higher class of medical 
officers of health and engineers than the smaller districts 
could do. The Bill provided that both urban and rural 
Boards were to appoint medical officers of health, and it 
suggested that these were to be the Poor Law medical 
officers. The urban Boards were to appoint, pay, and 
dismiss these officers at w r ill; but the rural Boards were 
to pay only one half the salary, the other half being paid 
out of the Consolidated Fund, and the appointment and 
dismissal being made subject to the approval of the 
central Local Government Board. These medical officers 
had most important functions to perform, requiring much 
special knowledge, much firmness, and thorough inde¬ 
pendence. The} 7 ' had to inspect the sanitary conditions 
of streets and thoroughfares, of schools and factories, and 
of the dwellings and lodging-houses of the labouring 
classes. They had to keep a watchful eye on the work¬ 
ing of the main and house sewerage. They had to look 
after nuisances likely to affect health. They must attack 
the wealthy manufacturer when he polluted the river 
with the refuse of his works; and they must equally 
remonstrate with their own masters, the civic authorities, 
when they poured the sewage of the town into the stream, 
regardless of those who live lower down in its course. 
They had also to search out nuisances in dwellings, from 
the defective drain in the palace, which breeds fever, to 
the accumulations in the dust-bin of the cottage, which 
poisoned the air around it. They had to watch the 
markets, from the shambles of the wealthy butcher 
to the stall of the humble costermonger. They had 
to track out disease, associate it with its causes, and 
watch the progress not only of death rates but of varia¬ 
tions of sickness among the population. The medical 
officer was, in fact, a public inquisitor, requiring much 
knowledge and tact in the performance of his public 
duties. But who were the sinners to be delivered oyer 
to this public inquisitor ? Chiefly the local authorities, 
in whose hands rested the appointment and dismissal ot 
their inquisitor. The vestryman butcher who sold 
diseased meat in his shambles ; the vestryman cottage 
owner who had houses; the town councillor who had 
his mills on the streams—these were the men who 
sinned J against health, and who appointed, paid, and 
dismissed the inquisitor of their sins. And to what 
class of medical men did the Bill look for so much know¬ 
ledge and independence ? To the Poor Law medical 
officers. That was a meritorious, hard-worked, and 
poorly-paid class of medical men ; but they were already 
borne down by the extent of their curative duties. If 
extensive preventive duties were added to those, and if 
even the new work were to be well paid for, though the 
Bill is by no means explicit as to the payment, what 
chance is there that both the curative and the preventive 
functions would be efficiently executed ? It would have 
been possible, by uniting local districts into a county 
area, to have secured the services of a medical man who 
relinquished the cure ot disease in order to have no con- 
