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House Refuse.
33. That this Conference is of opinion that dust^collection should be carried out by the responsible officers of
the sanitary authority without the intervention of a contractor.
34. That the daily removal of house refuse in suitable districts is advisable.
35. That improved dust carts should be adopted^so covered as to minimise annoyance caused to passers-by
during collection of house refuse, especially in crowded thoroughfares.
36. That the method of destruction of house refuse by fire should be universally adopted in London.
Collection of fish offal and other offensive trade refuse.
37. That the collection of fish offal and other offensive trade refuse should be undertaken by the sanitary
authorities at the expense of the producers.
Sanitary Inspection
38. That female inspectors should be employed in each borough.
Miscellaneous.
Municipal Creches.
39. That, having regard to the declining birth-rate and the large infantile mortality rate of the metropolis,
it is desirable that the metropolitan borough councils should be empowered at their discretion to establish creches for
the reception of young children during the hours their mothers are employed in work away from home, and to make
reasonable charges for the accommodation so provided and for the food of the children, and that the London County
Council be requested to insert in their General Powers Bill for the session of 1905 a clause to confer such power upon
the said borough councils.
Smoke nuisances.
40. That in the opinion of thi3 Conference it is desirable that the provisions of the Public Health (London) Act,
1891, as to nuisances arising from the emission of smoke, should be applied to property in the possession of the Crown.
Metropolitan Ambulance Service.
41. That the Conference, taking note that the Metropolitan Asylums Board are prepared to extend the
operations of their ambulance service so as to include the transport of medical, surgical, and mental cases, respectfully
requests the Local Government Board to obtain for the Managers the requisite legal authority to enable them to do so.
42. That the Conference desires to express the opinion that should the London County Council not be able to
provide for a street ambulance service, the duty should be undertaken by the Metropolitan Asylums Board.
Application of Acts to Government Prop rty.
43. That all provisions of the Public Health and Sanitary Acts should apply to Government property.
Conference on the Spread of Disease by Vagrants.
The attention of the Council having been drawn by the Corporation of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
to the spread of small-pox throughout England and Wales through the agency of vagrants, and the
suggestion having been made that a conference of the sanitary authorities of England and Wales should
be convened to consider the question, the Public Health Committee advised the Council to accede to the
suggestion of the Corporation, and a resolution was passed by the Council convening a conference
in the autumn of 1904. Invitations were issued to the Councils of counties, county boroughs, and metropolitan
boroughs asking each to appoint a member together with the medical officer of health of each
authority to meet in conference on the subject at the County Hall on 10th November, 1904. Invitations
were also issued to the Local Government Board, the Corporation of the City of London and
the Metropolitan Asylums Board. The chair of the conference was taken by Mr. Henry Jephson, the
chairman of the Public Health Committee, and after discussion the following resolutions were
adopted:—
General Measures for the Prevention of the Spread of Infectious Disease by Vagrants.
(1) (a) That this conference of urban and sanitary authorities of England and Wales recognises the increasing
amount of habitual vagrancy as the cause of wide-spread and disastrous consequences to the public health, and
is of opinion that much more effective measures than are at present adopted should be taken for preventing the spread
of infectious disease by vagrants, and for effectually dealing with this great and growing danger.
(b) That the evil can only be met by conferring further powers upon the local authorities, viz., the sanitary
authority, the board of guardians, and the magistracy.
(2) That means should be provided for the detention and isolation of any vagrant found wandering in a public
place, if reasonably suspected of being liable to convey infectious disease.
(3) That this conference is of opinion that it is desirable that
(а) Parliamentary powers should be sought for the compulsory vaccination and re-vaccination of all vagrants
unable to produce proof of being sufficiently protected against smallpox on entering casual wards or common lodging
houses, who, in the opinion of the sanitary authority, have been exposed to the infection of smallpox, and also that
sanitary authorities should have power to grant such compensation as they think necessary to persons vaccinated or
re-vaccinated at their request who may be prevented on that account from work ;
(b) It should be an offence to withhold information or make false statements to the sanitary authority in carrying
out its powers with respect to the disease.
(4) That in order to deal effectually with the transmission of notifiable infectious disease by tramps, power
should be given to county councils to enforce the existing laws in all cases where sanitary authorities in the county
refuse or neglect to do so.
(5) That the Loal Government Board should obtain powers to secure weekly returns of all cases of infectious
disease from all central authorities throughout the country, and circulate the same.
(6) That it is desirable that in districts comprising groups of counties and county boroughs, intelligence bureaux
should be established, to which information should be sent from sanitary authorities and workhouses in the district,
of persons of the wandering class who have been exposed to the infection of smallpox; and that a printed copy of
such information should be distributed from the bureau to every sanitary authority and board of guardians in the
district, and that the expense of working the bureau should be met by contributions from the county councils and
county boroughs forming the district.
(7) That this Conference is of opinion that the port sanitary authorities should be authorised to take more stringent
precautions to prevent the importation of disease by persons arriving by vessel at the ports who are suffering from
small-pox, or who have been exposed to infection by that disease.