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frequently lives next door, will sometimes receive them, either with
or without the knowledge that some risk is thereby ran of introducing
infection. In these cases I always advise them (where they
have a choice) to accept the offer of a friend who lives farthest
away from the premises occupied by themselves. It is frequently
impossible for them to spare all the clothing which really demands
disinfection, or to properly disinfect their persons after they have
attended to the patient, and I give the above advice in order that
a walk, however short, shall be the means of exposing them to
what my experience leads me to believe is one of the most potent
disinfectants—equally available to rich and poor, and as frequently
disregarded in either case—i.e., fresh air. Now under the
Public Health (London) Act of 1891, Section 60, Sub-Section 4,
it is enacted, "The Sanitary Authority shall provide, free of
charge, temporary shelter of house accommodation, with any
necessary attendants, for the members of any family in which any
dangerous infectious disease has appeared, who have been compelled
to leave their dwellings for the purpose of enabling
such dwellings to be disinfected by the Sanitary Authority."
There is no doubt that such a shelter would enable us to
carry out more completely the principles of disinfection, and
that such would be an important, and by no means costly,
acquisition to the Parish of Stoke Newington, and it would be an
additional gain if such a shelter could be used as a means of
isolating one or more persons who had run the risks of infection
when small-pox threatens our parish. I do not, however, recommend
that much shelter provision be made, or that much expense
be incurred, for I do not apprehend, from the experience of other
parishes in which such provision already exists, that much advantage
will be taken of it. There is a great reluctance among the
poorer parishioners to avail themselves of such provision, and
I would point out that we possess no powers to enforce compliance
with our wishes. It would be sufficient to arrange for the use of
two rooms as occasion required, and it is well, in deciding upon