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17
THE NEW SALE OF FOOD AND DRUGS ACT.
Early in the year, when the Bill amending the Sale of Food
and Drugs Act was before a Committee of the House of Commons,
I, with your approval, wrote on several occasions to the Secretary of
the Board of Agriculture calling attention to what then appeared
to be most unworkable conditions. I also wrote both the Hon.
Members for Bethnal Green, asking them on your behalf to make
every effort to get some amendments made. I further attended
at the House on several occasions, and had interviews with the
Hon. Member for the North-East Division, and several other
members interested in the matter, to whom I pointed out the
desirability of altering several of the new propositions (one could
not call them amendments). In due course some considerable
alterations were made, and the Bill subsequently became an Act,
called the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899, and with three other
Aots, namely, the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875, the Sale of
Food and Drugs Amendment Aot, 1879, and the Margarine Act,
1887, is now the Act to be worked by the various local authorities.
The original Act was complicated, highly technical, and certainly not
capable of easy administration. We have now four Acts all more
or less suffering with the original complaints, to which have been
added a few amendments, and I fear several uncertainties, whioh
there is every reason to suppose will at no distant date have to be
referred to the High Court for elucidation. This is how the
Legislature encourages local authorities in their duty.
REFUSE OF DUST AND DOMESTIC REFUSE.
In consequence of numerous complaints a Special Sub-Committee
was appointed to enquire into the question of the Dusting. Several
meetings were held, and resulted in the pailmen's districts being
re-arranged, and the number increased from 7 to 9. A new oode
of directions were drawn up for the guidance of the men, and
20,000 handbills were issued, and one left at every house in the
parish. I think on the whole there is some improvement.
HOUSING OF THE WORKING CLASSES ACT.
Under this Act nine notices were served in respect of nine
houses in Ames Street certified by Dr. Bate as unfit for human
habitation. Immediately on receipt of the notices the owners set
to work and carried out considerable repairs, and so prevented any
further action being taken. With regard to cases where action
had been taken in previous years, one house was demolished and a