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75
It cannot be too much advertised that spitting in public
streets and places, in tramcars, omnibuses, railways, and
elsewhere, is fraught with danger to health—it being proved
conclusively that the spit (or sputum) of a consumptive person
may contain a very large number of tubercle bacilli,
which are the cause of the disease, and which may produce
the same disease in others, to whom they may gain access in
the form of dust (dried sputum) off the roads, streets, etc.
Indeed, the need for the preventing of indiscriminate
spitting no one will gainsay, and the action that has been
already taken, and is being taken, by Sanitary Authorities
at home and abroad, prevents any action that Lambeth may
take in the same connection being noticeable as too stringent
or too advanced.
Compared with other nations, Great Britain is much behindhand.
Thus, America, Canada, New South Wales,
Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary,
etc., may be cited as countries where spitting publicly is
legislated against, and prohibited under penalty, more especially
in public places, railway stations and carriages,
trams and omnibuses, etc.
In Britain, it appears that Liverpool, Glasgow, and Manchester
have already framed bye-laws to prohibit spitting in
tramcars, and the Glamorgan County Council has gone
farther, and obtained a bye-law (1902) preventing spitting
in public carriages and public places. On July 10th, 1903,
the London County Council, in pursuance of powers under
the Municipal Corporations Act, 1888, and the Local Government
Act, 1888, made the following bye-law:—
"No person shall spit on the floor, side, or wall of any
public carriage, or of any public hall, public waiting room,
or place of public entertainment, whether admission thereto
be obtained upon payment or not.
"Any person who shall offend against this bye-law
shall be liable for each offence to a fine not exceeding
forty shillings."
As to who is to carry out this London County Council
bye-law which, of course, applies to Lambeth, as well as to
other Metropolitan Boroughs, the Clerk to the London