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108
the authority in London to determine when such regulations should be operative
and to enforce the same. The Council accordingly made representations to
the Minister of Health who replied that he was not yet satisfied as to the
desirability of re-imposing the regulations in any form, but that if he should
decide to do so, the suggestion that the Council should be made the
administrative authority under the regulations would receive careful consideration,
and that no decision had yet bean arrived at as to what could be regarded as a
minimum standard of ventilation for cinemas and theatres. The question of the
securing satisfactory atmospheric conditions in places of public entertainment and
thereby preventing, as far as possible, the spread of infection was again under
consideration in the early part of 1922 and the Council, on 4th April, 1922, decided
that, in connection with those places of public entertainment in which the ventilation
is determined by the Council to be unsatisfactory, it considered that it
should be empowered in times of epidemic to close such places for short intervals or
to take such action as may appear to be expedient in order to prevent the spread of
infectious disease among persons frequenting such premises. Representations were
accordingly made to the Minister of Health with a view to a general power for this
purpose being given to the Council, but no decision had been come to by the end of 1922.
Appeal
Committee.
The Appeal Committee are the statutory appeal committee under the Metropolis
Management Act, 1855, section 212. The Committee also hear and decide all appeals
made to the Council under any other Act of Parliament (except appeals under
section 20 (5) of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, against decisions of the
Public Health Committee). No appeals were heard during the year 1922.
Details are given in the last Annual Report (vol. III., p. 67) of the Council's
action with regard to the organisation of health administration in London. At
present there is nothing to add to that information.
Health
administration
in
London.
Diseases of
animals.
The Diseases of Animals Acts, 1894 to 1911, the object of which is the suppression
of contagious diseases in animals, naturally do not affect London so much as the
country. In London, apart from swine fever, attention is now principally directed
to glanders, anthrax, rabies and parasitic mange, diseases which are communicable
to man. The Acts are supplemented by Orders issued by the Minister of Agriculture
and Fisheries. During 1922 the incidence of the principal animal diseases so far as
London is concerned was as follows, the number of animals affected being given in
brackets :—Glanders, including farcy, 3 (3); swine fever, 10 (467); anthrax, nil;
parasitic mange, 96 (164).
Glanders or
Farcy.
Glanders is the disease in animals which has caused most trouble and expense
to the Council. The disease is now dealt with under the Glanders or Farcy Order
of 1920, which requires veterinary surgeons, etc., who consider that any horse,
ass or mule is affected with glanders, or was so affected when it died, or was slaughtered,
to notify the local authority. A fee of 2s. 6d. is payable by the local authority to the
person giving such notice. Under the Glanders or Farcy (Metropolitan Police
District) Order, 1911, the Council had powers to destroy nosebags and other stable
material not capable of disinfection. The Order was revoked, but its provisions
were re-enacted in the Glanders Order, 1920, and the powers continue to be fully
utilised after each outbreak. All infected material of this kind is burnt at one of the
knackers' depots at the expense of the Council. During 1922 two diseased horses
were slaughtered, the compensation payable amounting to £26 10s. Glanders
was also found to exist in an animal which died and had been taken to a knackers'
depot. A contravention of the provisions of the Order by failing to give notice of
the existence of disease formed the subject of legal proceedings, a penalty of £20
being inflicted.
Exportation
of horses,
asses and
mules.
In order to deal with certain abuses connected with the exportation of animals
the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries made an Order entitled the Exportation and
Transit of Horses, Asses and Mules Order, 1921, which was intended to be complementary
to the Diseases of Animals Act of 1910, as amended by the Exportation of