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sign, such a certificate unless he was satisfied in his own
mind that it was Small-pox. It might be that in London
there were special precautions to keep doubtful cases
separate from undoubted Small-pox, but it was not so
everywhere, and if a doctor took the responsibility of
certifying what turned out to be Chicken-pox as Smallpox,
the results might be extremely serious to the patient.
This was a penal section, and must lie construed in favour
of the defendant. It meant that where a doctor, having
used his judgment to the best of his ability, came to the
conclusion it was Small-pox, it became his duty to certify.
The suggestion had been made that one should go into
the question whether the doctor had exercised every
possible care in diagnosis. It would be impossible to
hold a medical man liable in that way, in his opinion.
It was suggested he should have consulted the Medical
Officer of Health. He thought a man who wished to
avoid a part of his own responsibility would be wise to
take such a course, but, after all, that was merely shifting
responsibility. If the doctor, having complete confidence
in his own judgment, took the responsibility of not
certifying, the risk was his from one point of view. But it
did not follow that because he did not take the advice of
another medical man he should be prosecuted. After
going through the evidence carefully, he had come to the
conclusion that there was no case against the defendant.
The summons would be dismissed.
Scarlet Fever.
The number of Scarlet Fever cases occurring in 1903 was
448, of which 7 were fatal. In 1902 there occurred 854
cases, with 23 deaths. The Scarlet Fever case-rate, death-rate,
and case-mortality in 1891 and the subsequent twelve years are
given below : —