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opportunity for conferring certain special sanitary powers
(lately held by the Factory Inspectors over London Workshops
under the Factory Acts) upon the Metropolitan Sanitary
Authorities—and their powers include every power that is
held under the Act (Public Health (London) Act) which' I
have set out under the heading Factories (subject to the 1878
Act), and in addition, the following special powers :—
(1) Sec. 2 (g) (i.) (ii.) (iii.) (special workshop nuisances).
(2) Sec. 25, Cleansing, &c. (as to factory—note sub-sec. 2).
(3) Sec. 27, Duty of Medical Officer of Health with respect
to certain provisions of the Factory and Workshops
Act (notice of employment of protected persons).
So far, then, as workshops and workplaces are concerned,
the whole duty of enforcing sanitary provisions is conferred
upon the Metropolitan Sanitary Authority by the Public
Health (London) Act, 1891.
Provisions of Workshops Act of 1895.
It is now necessary to note the effects of the provisions
of the above Act, and sec. 1, sub-sec. 1 defines "overcrowding"
in a workshop for the purpose of the law
relating to public health, and this can be used by a sanitary
authority in London as a standard; but unfortunately the
provisions in the same section (sub-sec. 3) whilst making it
compulsory to fix a notice specifying the number of persons
who may be employed in each room of a factory or workshop
are legislation by reference to sec. 78 of the principal Act
(F. & W.), and for neglect of this very salutary provision a
person can apparently only be summoned by a Factory Inspector;
hence making a difficulty for the sanitary authority
in workshops which the factory inspector has not to experience
in factories.
With regard to this it is well to note that the factory
inspector is by sec. 2 sub-sec. 2 debarred from taking action
against workshops in matters which can be dealt with by the
sanitary authority unless the said authority are defaulters, and
sec. 5 again, whilst dealing with insanitary workshops, gives
power to the factory inspector against the person who gives
out work to be done in such places and not to the sanitary
authority.
Under sec. 4 of the principal Act (F. & W.) it is the duty
of the factory inspector to give notice of such insanitary conditions
in a workshop to the sanitary authority.
Section 6 again provides a penalty for making, cleaning, or
repairing any clothing in a house where small-pox or scarlet