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32
CLEANSING OF PERSONS ACT, 1897.
Under the provisions of this Act any person who shall apply to the Local
Authority on the ground that he is infested with vermin shall have at the
discretion of such Authority the use, free of charge, of the apparatus (if any)
which the Authority possess for cleansing the person and his clothing from
vermin, &c., and the Local Authority in the City is the Corporation of
London.
On the 22nd August, a man presented himself at the Guildhall, by
direction of the City of London Union Authorities, for the purpose of
availing himself of the Act. The applicant was sent to the Shelter at Golden
Lane, where he was provided with a bath and his garments were disinfected.
It was found that the man's underclothing was in such a deplorable condition
that the Keeper of the Mortuary, with the man's permission, burnt them and
gave him new.
This was the first case of the kind that had occurred in the City since the
Act came into operation five years previously. There being many objections
to the use of the Shelter at Golden Lane for this purpose, your Medical Officer
suggested that an arrangement be made with the City of London Union
Authority for them to undertake the practical working of the Act on behalf
of the Corporation, this method of carrying out the provisions of the Act
having been adopted by other Metropolitan Boroughs.
This recommendation was adopted, and the City Guardians undertook to
provide the requisite accommodation at a charge of 10s. 6d. for each case.
REMOVAL OF INFECTED ARTICLES TO THE CITY FROM
AN OUTSIDE DISTRICT.
On the 25th August, a request was received for the removal and
disinfection from premises in Copthall Avenue of clothing belonging to a
servant in the employ of the applicant, who had brought it into the City
from his residence at Barnet.
The request was immediately complied with, and the applicant, a solicitor,
informed that he has rendered himself liable to a fine not exceeding 5l. under
the provisions of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, sec. 68 (c), and
that it would be the duty of your Medical Officer to report the fact to the
Sanitary Committee.
He subsequently called at the Guildhall and expressed his thanks for our
good offices in disinfecting the clothing, and explained that he had been
unable to get anyone in his own district to do the necessary disinfection.