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75
Health of the District.
Small-pox has for the time practically died out. On
the other hand, there has been an unusual burst of scarlet
fever during the latter part of June ; there has also been a
rise above the normal of typhoid fever. No direct connection
between milk or water supply can be established. In
a few of the cases of typhoid there is some evidence of
being derived from eating shell-fish or oysters, but in others
the history is too vague and indefinite to justify conclusions.
In other respects, the past three months have been fairly
healthy; the general death-rate, as well as that from pulmonary
and tubercular diseases, being well below the
average.
London County Council (General Powers) Bill.
This Bill, now before the House of Lords, seeks,
among other things, to empower the officers of the London
County Council to inspect any dairy in any place in or out
of London from whence milk supposed to have caused
illness is derived. The Boroughs of Paddington, of
Lambeth, of Hampstead, of Islington, of St. Pancras, the
County Councils of Middlesex and of Herts, the Metropolitan
Branch of the Society of Medical Officers of Health,
all petition against these powers being granted.
To the mind of the writer the powers of each County
Council, whether the County Council of London or that
of any of the provinces, should be confined to the functions
of a Local Government Board, and many functions now
exercised by the Local Government Board might be
usefully transferred. But when matters of detail are in
question, such as the inspection of dairies, of common
lodging houses, the provision of facilities of escape from
fire, and so forth, all such matters can be done more
economically and more efficiently by the officers of the
various local sanitary authorities. It is therefore much to