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infection, and as all the Medical Officers of Health in London are in
close touch with one another, combined action can be taken readily
and promptly, whereas the London County Council have no means of
ascertaining whether any localised outbreak of infectious disease is due
to milk or other cause, except from information which the local Medical
Officer of Health may voluntarily give them.
" The Westminster Council is further of opinion that the Bill
suggested by the London County Council is wrong in principle, and
that this is a question which should be met by general legislation if
required. If the supply of milk were stopped from being sent to
London there is no guarantee that it would not be disposed of in
some other part of the country. I am therefore of opinion that it
would be better to require the Metropolitan Medical Officer of
Health who had reason to believe that infectious disease was being
conveyed by milk, to notify the Medical Officer of the district or
county in which the dairy might be situated, and to require him to
make such enquiries as were necessary and to stop the milk at its
source.
" In order to ascertain whether there would be any difficulty in
effecting this, I have addressed the following letter to the Medical
Officers of the various counties and large combined sanitary districts.
Replies have been received from 24 of them, and 21 of these oppose the
London County Council's Bill, 2 agree with it, and 1 agrees with certain
modifications. I append a summary of the replies.
" As an alternative of the suggestions of the London County Council,
the Westminster Council are of opinion that it is quite unnecessary for
the County Council to make enquiries as suggested by the Bill. That
the Public Health (London) Act is sufficient to protect each Metropolitan
Borough.
" A difficulty was raised that if a milk supply was sent to all of the
different metropolitan boroughs, an enquiry would have to be made by
the officers of each borough, and this would be a great hardship to the
farmer. While disputing that it is not at all likely that 29 boroughs,
would be affected by one milk supply, the Westminster Council is of
opinion that if any further power is required, it would be made by the
insertion of a clause giving the County Council power, where an order
has been obtained by a Borough Medical Officer, to extend the order to
all the rest of London. "
Ice-Creams.—The County Council (General Powers) Act contains
sections dealing with places where ice-creams are made. The City
Council considered it would have been of value if the Act had provided
that no place should be used for the making, storage, or sale of icecreams
unless certified as to its suitability; but it appears to be difficult