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69
ground of its interference with the " liberty of the subject," indifferent
or oblivious to the fact, to which I subsequently called
attention, that the most democratic communities are precisely those
which are the most stringent in such interference with indi-
vidual liberty when necessary for the general good. The President
was subsequently invited to receive a third deputation, viz., the Parliamentary
Bills Committee of the British Medical Association, for
the purpose of urging upon him "That the local authorities should
not have the power of imposing the duty of compulsory notification
on medical practitioners." The Committee in taking this
step, was acting upon a resolution carried, at the Jubilee Meeting
of the Association, held at Worcester last year, as follows:—
"That this meeting earnestly desires compulsory notification of infectious
diseases, but it wishes to express its opinion that the compulsion to
notify should be placed upon the householder, as his duty as a citizen,
and not upon the doctor."
The Action of the Vestry in Respect of Notification.
—I have referred above to the action taken by the Sanitary
Authorities of the Metropolis in 1881 to promote notification :
it will not be deemed out of place here, I hope, briefly to
recapitulate the part taken by your Vestry in the matter.
In my Monthly Reports for November and December, 1880,1
had called attention to the necessity of legislation to secure " notification,"
among some other not less important sanitary reforms, and
in January, 1881, the following resolution was adopted, viz.:—
"That this Vestry approve the principle of compulsory intimation to the
Public Health Authority of all cases of such diseases as small pox,
scarlet fever, diphtheria, typhus, typhoid, and cholera."
By another resolution the Vestries and District Boards were
invited to send delegates to a conference, with a view to joint
action to promote legislation; and a " Memorandum " on the subject,
drawn up by me at the request of your Vestry, was forwarded,
for information, to every member of a Vestry or District Board
in the Metropolis. (Vide Annual Report, 1880, page 49.)
The Conference met at the Town Hall, March 23rd, 1881,
under the presidency of Major-General Boileau, R.E., F.R.S.;