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four to five weeks to keep pace with it, whilst the mortality
was very great. The deaths during this epidemic are shewn in
the following table:

The method of propagation, so far as medical men can judge,
was the same as last year by direct contagion, no sooner was
one member of a family afflicted than in several da)Ts other
members of the same family were attacked; the congregating
of numbers of persons together seems to have been conducive
to the development of the disease; it is a significant fact that
when the malady was firmly established in London, it soon
spread all over England. It is to be greatly regretted that up to
the present time we are practically in the dark as to the means
of preventing this scourge, so that with this disease upon us it
has to be dealt with as each practitioner thinks fit; that it is, in
a measure, of malarial origin I think most medical men are
agreed, attacking especially the nerve centres and vital organs.
I am glad to hear that inquiry has already been commenced
by the Medical Department of the Local Government Board,
with a view to discovering its origin and to take the best means
for checking its prevalence.
SANITARY LEGISLATION DURING THE YEAR 1891.
The principal legislation carried through by Parliament during
the year are two of the most important Acts as affecting sanitation
that have been entered 011 the Statute Book:
The Public Health (London) Act, 1891.
The Factory and Workshops Act, 1891.
The Public Health Act is a measure which consolidates and
amends the Sanitary Acts, the Nuisance Removal Act, the Infectious
Disease Prevention Act, and a number of other Acts over
thirty in number which are either in part or wholly amended. I
don't know how many of the members of the Vestry are acquainted
with the provisions of these Acts, but in as brief a manner
as possible I propose to bring the most important parts to your
notice which we shall have to deal with as a Sanitary Authority.