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84
Manchester Sanitary Congress.
(Special Report by the Medical Officer of Health).
Presented to the Council on Oct. 30th, 1902.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Borough of Lambeth.
Gentlemen,
As your appointed delegates, we attended the Nineteenth
Congress of the Sanitary Institute, which was held at Manchester
under the Presidency of the Right Hon. Earl Egerton of Tatton,
from September 9th to 13th. Over 2,000 delegates were present,
representing learned Societies and Sanitary Authorities, whilst
the French Republic was represented by Professors Nocard and
Martin.
The Congress was divided into three Sections, viz.: —
1. Sanitary Science and Preventive Medicine.
2. Engineering and Architecture.
3. Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
In addition, several Conferences were held amongst (1) Medical
Officers of Health, (2) Municipal Representatives, (3) Sanitary
Inspectors, (4) Engineers, (5) Ladies interested in Domestic
Hygiene, (6) Persons interested in the Hygiene of School Life,
(7) Veterinary Inspectors, and (8) Port Sanitary Authorities.
It was impossible to attend all the meetings, and we therefore
decided to put in an appearance at the most important ones,
which dealt with the chief Sanitary problems of the day.
Many and various were the subjects brought forward and discussed,
and amongst these may be mentioned the following : —
(a). The Dust Problem and Smoke Prevention.
The importance of dust as a factor in the causation of ill-health
and actual disease was emphasised, and its power of travelling
was brought clearly before the members of the Congress, when
it was stated that the large amount of dust belched forth from
La Souffriere and Mont P??? was being probably added at the
time of the Congress to the smoke of Manchester. Dust must
be collected and removed, and that led to the recognised need
for Municipal cleanliness (in its widest sense), e.g., the laying out
of roads with hard and practically impermeable paving in thickly
populated districts instead of with defective stone and ordinary
macadam; the hosing down with water of all crowded courts and