Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Report for the year 1903 of the Medical Officer of Health
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become a source of danger to people living in the neighbourhood. If
they allow their closets to get into such a condition as to be absolutely
insanitary, and the people who use them, who continually have to travel,
in consequence of using these things contract disease, and that disease is
circulated, either in the neighbourhood or elsewhere, the contagion being
taken from the Railway Company, can it be said that the only remedy
against the Railway Company is that by indictable action at Common
Law, and that that expensive and prolonged mode is the only possible
way in which you can compel a Railway Company to make their stations
sanitary, and make their conveniences comply with the Sanitary Acts of
this Country? I cannot think it can be held to be inconsistent with the
powers given by the original Act of Parliament to the Metropolitan or
to any Railway Company—it does not matter which—that they should
have powers simply to erect what they choose, but that they are not to
comply with the requirements of the Sanitary Authority in which that
station happens to be situated. If so, it seems to me that such a power
must have been given by express words, and if the Companies are to be
exempt from the Sanitary Acts and from the Public Health Act I should
have expected to find that exception there, as you find it in the Building
Act of London, a very large portion of which is excepted, and does not
apply to Railway Companies—buildings erected for the purposes of
Railway Companies are expressly excepted by that Act of Parliament in
very many cases; the whole of the third part of the Act is entirely
excepted: there are many Sections whore it is enacted they shall not
apply to Railway Companies. There is no such exception in the
reference to the Public Health Act of London, 1891. As I say, the
only exception is Section 45, which has nothing on earth to do with this
question. Therefore that being so, it seems to me a very strong ground
for saying that the Legislature had their attention called to the fact at
the time the question was before Parliament, because they inserted that
exception to that particular Section, and only that particular Section,
and therefore to my mind that is a very strong ground for saying that
the Legislature never intended to except the whole of the property of
Railway Companies from the Act in its entirety. That being so, I have
come to the conclusion that the Railway Company have offended in
reference to all these various Sections of these various Acts of Parliament
under which the summonses are taken. They did not give the notice