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98
NEW LEGISLATION.
London County Council General Powers Act, 1907.—
The London County Council General Powers Act, 1907, came into
operation January 1st, 1908. By this Act the London County
Council have obtained additional sanitary powers as set out in
Parts IV. and V.
In Part IV. power is given to the medical officer of the
London County Council to take, in any district within the
County of London, samples of milk produced or sold or intended
for sale within the County, and outside the County samples of
milk intended for sale within London, when authorised by a
justice having jurisdiction in the place where the sample is to
be taken. The object of this power is to prevent tuberculous
milk entering London. The samples generally will be taken at
various railway stations within the County.
As originally drafted the Borough Councils and the City
of London were precluded from exercising similar powers and
your Council with others asked for concurrent powers. The
City Corporation secured concurrent powers by a special clause
(35), while the Borough Councils can only have them at the
discretion of the London County Council.
Personally I think the measures will be of little use. It
is an attempt to control the milk supply at the point of distribution
instead of at the source. Moreover after a sample is taken
a considerable delay must occur before a bacteriological report
can be obtained, while the remainder of the diseased milk has
been distributed and consumed. There is also another serious
objection. Power is only given to exclude milk found to be
tuberculous from the County. There is nothing to prevent its
distribution to other districts when excluded from London.