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88
The objections to the Bill from the point of view of Sanitary
Authorities, may perhaps be summed up in the statement (1) that
some of its provisions are of a too stringent character, indicating
a want of confidence in the readiness of those bodies to do their
duty—although it is acknowledged that failure, such as it is, is
due rather to the complexity and scattered condition of the law,
than to any unwillingness to carry out the provisions of the law
so far as they are understood; (2) that it gives the County
Council too much control over the Local Authorities, enabling that
body in some instances to supersede them—though this cannot be
done without the previous assent of the Local Government Board;
the proposed powers, moreover, replacing others which at present
place the Local Authorities at the mercy of private individuals, so
that the Bill rather modifies the application than changes the
principles of existing law; (3) that the common informer is a
detestable element in the punitive sections of the Bill, and that
his interference would be prejudicial to the dignity of the Local
Authorities, and destructive of the hope of inducing men of a
superior class to interest themselves in public health work.
Having thus stated the character and scope of the official
objections to the Bill, I proceed to refer to some of its provisions
which are deserving of approval, as marking an advance in public
health legislation; to indicate omitted matters that might well
have been dealt with; as well as improvements of which the
measure appears to be susceptible—always, of course, regarding
the subject from a purely sanitary point of view.
Nuisances.—In section 2* (and others) it is enacted that
provisions in existing laws respecting premises, &c., "when
injurious or prejudicial to health, shall extend to the same when
dangerous to health," an important extension in the definition of a
nuisance. Section 3 extends and enlarges the definition of
* It will be understood that the sections in the Consolidated measure—
Public Health (London) Bill—are differently numbered. The two Bills were
amalgamated and the sections re-numbered, at too late a period to enable me to
re-write my observations on the provisions of the Amendment Bill, or to
re-cast the clauses as they appeared in the complete measure when it left
Committee of the House of Commons.