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person and clothing of any child attending a school, and if the child be found
to be verminous, to require that the parent or other person should properly
cleanse such child and the clothing within 24 hours, and if the person fail, may
then remove the child from any school and cause the person and clothing of
such child to be properly cleansed; by section 37, similar provision is made
enabling the Medical Officer of the London County Council to enforce the
cleansing of the person and clothing of the inmates of common lodginghouses
; section 38 enables the County Council and any sanitary authorities to
make and carry into effect agreements and arrangements for the purpose of
cleansing of the person and clothing in the afore-mentioned cases, and section
40 empowers the London County Council to make regulations with respect to
the mode of carrying into effect the provisions of the above sections.
Following upon these provisions, the Minutes of the London County
Council of the 4th February, 1908, p. 157, contain instructions that (a) the
provisions of the Act of 1907, with respect to verminous inmates of common
lodging-houses, should be carried out by the Public Health Committee, and
that they should have power to enter into agreements or arrangements ; and b)
that the provisions with respect to verminous children attending schools should
be exercised bv the Education Committee, and that regulations affecting such
children should be made by such Committee; but (c) that arrangements with
sanitary authorities should be made through one Committee, namely, the Public
Health Committee.
The Children Act, 1908, by section 122, sub-sections (1) and (2), reproduces
the powers of section 36, sub-sections (1) and (2), of the London County
Council (General Powers) Act, 1907, with regard to the examination of
children attending school, giving notice and requisitions to cleanse the person
and clothing of any child infested with vermin or in a foul or filthy condition,
and for the removal and forcible detention and cleansing of such child. And,
in addition to this, sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 122 of the Children Act,
1908, provide :—
" (3) Where any sanitary authority within the district of a local
" education authority have provided, or are entitled to the use of any
" premises or appliances for cleansing the person or clothing of persons
" infested with vermin, the sanitary authority shall, if so required by the
" local education authority, allow the local education authority to use
" such premises and appliances for the purpose of this section upon such
" payment (if any) as may be agreed between them, or, in default of an
" agreement, settled by the Local Government Board.
" (4) Where after the person or clothing of a child has been cleansed
" by the local education authority under this section the parent or
" guardian of, or other person liable to maintain the child, allows him to
" get into such a condition that it is again necessary to proceed under this
" section, the parent, guardian, or other person shall, on summary con"
viction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 10s."
In July, 1909, a letter to the following effect was addressed from the
Education Offices of the London County Council, Victoria Embankment,
W.C., to the Town Clerks of certain Metropolitan Borough Councils : —
" Sir,
Cleansing of Children Infested with Vennin.
" The appropriate Committee of the Council have again had under
" consideration the question of the cleansing of school children infested