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79
were almost uniformly favourable, and the President of the
Local Government Board has announced his intention to bring
in a general Bill during the present Session to provide for
Notification.
Compulsory Removal to Hospital of the Infectious
Sick.—The 26th section of the Sanitary Act, 1866, authorises
a Justice to make an Order, upon production of a medical certificate,
for the removal of any person suffering from an infectious
disease, and being "without proper lodging or accommodation."
It has been held that all that the law requires is, that the
accommodation shall be proper for the safety of the sick person.
The Conference of Sanitary Authorities, above referred to, held
that the safety of the other inmates of the house should be taken
into consideration and that the sick person should be compulsorily
removed to hospital if he could not be isolated at home. The
law remains unaltered. The 26th section of the Sanitary Act,
1866, above cited, is defective, inasmuch as it contains no
direction as to the person on whom the Justice's order is to be
made, and therefore does not provide for any peoalty for
obstruction or disobedience. Having experienced difficulty in
enforcing the Justice's order, your Vestry, on my representation,
called the attention of the Local Government Board to the
subject, with the result that in the Sanitary Law Amendment
Act, 1874, sec. 51. it was enacted that the Justice's order shall
be addressed to such police or other officer as he shall consider
expedient. A penalty not exceeding ten pounds is now enforceable
for obstruction or disobedience.
Free Hospital Treatment, and Depauperisation of Relief in
the Hospitals, the subjects of the third of the Conference
resolutions, have, as already shown, been practically secured
(vide pages 78 and 75).
[Addendum.—After the above Section on Notification
was in type, a circular letter was received from the Sanitary
Committee of the London County Council to the effect, that