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66
As an illustration of progressive legislation, I
may remind you that by Sec. 2 of the Factory
and Workshop Act, 1891, Sanitary Authorities
were allowed a "reasonable time" to cause the
amendment of sanitary defects brought to their
notice by an Inspector of Factories, but by the
Act of 1895 they were deprived of any discretionary
power, and a period was fixed by
statute to "within one month."
The following are the transformations undergone
by this section during the past twenty
years.
In the Factory and Workshop Act, 1878
(the original consolidating "Principal Act,"
referred to in the opening paragraph of this
section), it read as follows:—
"Sec. 4. Where it appears to an Inspector under
"this Act that any act, neglect, or default in relation
"to any drain, water-closet, earth-closet, privy, ashpit,
"water supply, nuisance, or other matter in a factory or
"workshop is punishable or remediable under the law
"relating to public health, but not under this Act, that
"Inspector shall give notice in writing of such act,
"neglect, or default to the Sanitary Authority in whose
"district the factory or workshop is situate, and it shall