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14
During 1908 the National Conference on Infant Mortality
held their meeting at the Caxton Hall, Westminster, on the 23rd
to 25th March and passed the following resolutions:—
Resolutions passed at a Conference held at Caxton Hall,
Westminster, on 23rd, 24th and 25th March, 1908, on
INFANT MORTALITY.
1. That this Conference expresses its appreciation of Parliament
having passed the Notification of Births Act, 1907, and urges
upon all Local Authorities the importance of adopting the Act, and
appointing qualified women to carry out its provisions.
2. That in order to combat the prevalent ignorance, resulting in
wastage of infant life and injury to the health of many survivors,
the Conference urges upon the Board of Education and upon
Education Authorities generally, the importance of securing to all
girls, in every grade of school, a satisfactory training in domestic
and personal hygiene, and in the duties of womanhood.
3. That this Conferences welcomes most gladly the Children's
Bill, introduced into the House of Commons by Mr. Herbert
Samuel, M.P., for the amendment of the Infant Life Protection
Act, 1897, and recommends the Executive Committee to ask that it
be specially amended to include the cases in which one child is put
out to nurse for reward.
4. That the Conference, being convinced of the injury done to
infant life and health through infants being taken into publichouses,
urges upon Parliament the necessity of providing such
legislation as will prevent this.
5. That the Children's Bill be amended to empower Local
Authorities to charge upon the rates the cost of carrying out the
existing statutory provisions for the prevention of cruelty to
children.
6. That this Conference is of opinion that Boards of Guardians
ought to make greater use of their existing powers to adopt children
incorrigible parents.