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iv.
The Council has exercised such limited powers as it possesses in respect of the milk supply
of London, and has availed itself of the provisions of its General Powers Act of 1904, to seize and
slaughter cows suspected of having tubercular disease of the udder. It has also taken such
steps as have been possible to prevent the sale of milk from cows certified to be suffering from that
disease. It has, however, again failed to obtain from Parliament the legislation which it
considers necessary with the object of preventing the sale in London of infected or filthy milk.
The administration of by-laws respecting houses let in lodgings has been to some degree in
abeyance owing to the decisions of the Courts that the by-laws were invalid, unless they provided
for notice to be given to the landlord of a house before proceedings were taken. The result has
been that in a large number of districts the by-laws have been under revision. We regard
the efficient enforcement of these by-laws as of great importance to the public health, and have
urged the sanitary authorities which have not already done so, to make the necessary amendments,
so that the by-laws may again be put into effective operation as soon as possible.
An important decision was given by the magistrate at the Woolwich Police Court on
16th December, 1904, to the effect that the supply of water from a tap in the yard waB not a
proper and sufficient supply of water to a tenement house, and that there should be a separate supply
of water to each floor of the house in question. We hope that, aB a result of this decision, steps
will be taken by the sanitary authorities to secure a proper supply to all such houses in their
districts. The inquiry made by Dr. Young on behalf of the Council showed that the arrangements
for the supply of the upper floors of many of such houses were very inadequate.*
We are glad to observe that a number of the sanitary authorities have during the year
displayed considerable activity in the enforcement of the law which prohibits the separate occupation
of underground rooms.
It is interesting to note that at the end of 1904. 34,488 workshops in London were under the
supervision of the local authorities, and 18,922 conditions requiring remedy were dealt with in that
year. 84,600 inspections were made of premises subject to the Factory and Workshop Act, many of
these being dwelling houses at which outworkers were employed. The number of outworkers on
the lists supplied to sanitary authorities was 34,579. There were in London at the close of 1904,
2,802 bakehouses, of which 1,416 were underground. Among the workplaces inspected were those
in which food is prepared for sale, and hence the kitchens of hotels and restaurants and other
similar places came under observation.
The enforcement of the law respecting the sale of unsound food appears to be beset with
considerable difficulties owing to trade practices such as the removal of glands, tonsils, etc., from
carcases, and the need for more extensive employment of special inspectors of food is emphasised in
the report submitted herewith.
The special powers conferred upon sanitary authorities by the London County Council
(General Powers) Act, 1902, in respect of premises on which ice cream is manufactured are being
actively exercised with good results. Investigation has been made by Dr. Hamer as to the
conditions under which the ice trade is conducted (Appendix I.), and the Local Government
Board has been informed of the result, and asked to consider whether premises used for cold
storage should not be registered, and whether local authorities should not be empowered to make
regulations with a view to preventing the manufacture and sale of ice under conditions likely to
give rise to contamination.
The Council obtained in its General Powers Act of 1904 legislation enabling sanitary
authorities to deal with filthy, dangerous or unwholesome articles, houses infested with
vermin, urinals so placed or constructed as to be a nuisance or offensive to decency, and
fixed ashpits.
In connection with the licensing of common lodging houses, we have devoted much attention
not only to the sanitary condition of the premises, but also to the arrangements for the safety of
the lodgers in the event of fire. The recent fatal fire at a lodging house in Glasgow has emphasised
the need for precautionary measures. We are glad to say that the improvements considered
requisite by the Council have now been completed at nearly all the common lodging houses in
London.
The administration of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, and other matters affecting the
public health, were the subject of an important conference of London sanitary authorities, held at
the instance of the Council, on 7th and 18th July, 1904. A number of resolutions were passed in
the interests of a more uniform administration, and are shown in a separate publication.! A
conference of local authorities of England and Wales was also convened by the Council on the
question of the agency of vagrants in the spread of disease and the remedial measures advisable.
The proceedings of this conference, which met on 19th November, 1904, have also been
separately published, t
The arrangements for minimising the dissemination of infectious disease in schools and for
improving the physical condition of school children have an intimate relation to the general health
administration. In Appendix III. will be found Dr. Kerr's report, which gives an account of the
work done in this direction.
G. J. Cooper,
Chairman.
County Hall,
Spring-gardens, S.W.,
15th December, 1905.
* Houses adapted as Tanemeut'Houses. Report b v the Medical Officer submitting Dr. Young's report (No. 706).
† Conference on the administration of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891. Notes of proceedings (No. 799).
‡ Conference on the spread of infectious disease by vagrauts. Notes of proceedings (No. 811).