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maintenance of such persons in the hospitals should be defrayed out of
the general rate.
Note.—Under the proposed altered constitution of the Board the
hospitals should be supported out of a Metropolitan rate; or power
might be given to the Managers to issue precepts on the several
Sanitary Authorities for their quota of the expenses.
5. That the admission into the Hospitals of persons suffering from infectious
diseases should not involve the loss of any political or other rights by the
said persons.
Note.—It is proposed to place the treatment of infectious diseases on the
same footing as Public Vaccination: in other words, admission into
the Hospitals should not be deemed to be Parish or poor relief. It
has been ascertained that on the 15th February, 1877, the
proportion of patients in the several asylums who acknowledged to
having previously received parochial relief was under ten per cent.
6. That in order to facilitate the 'stamping out' of infectious diseases,
provision should be made for the disclosure to the Sanitary Authority
of all cases of such diseases in such manner as to the wisdom of
Parliament may appear most expedient."
(3) "Poor Law Act, 1879.—I recognise a germ of possible usefulness
in Section 13 of the Poor Law Act, 1879, which authorises the
Asylums Board to contract with Sanitary Authorities for the reception
and treatment of non-pauper cases, and which was the outcome
of the deputation to the President of the Local Government
Board (March 28, 1879), when the above resolution was presented
by the Conference of 1878. But, above all, I adhere to the resolutions,
adopted unanimously by the great Conference of Sanitary
Authorities, held at the Town Hall, Kensington, in March,
1881, and which were submitted to the President of the Local
Government Board by the deputation, at which, in addition to the
Sanitary Authorities, the British Medical Association, the Society
of Medical Officers of Health, the Social Science Association
(Public Health Section), and the National Health Society were
represented. The resolutions were as follow
"That this Conference of Vestriesand District Boards of Works is of the opinion—
1. That in the interests of public health, and to enable Nuisance Authorities to
discharge the duty of checking and preventing the spread of infectious