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14
Sanitary.
A measure of the highest importance, in a sanitary point of
view, has received the sanction of the Legislature during the
present year, in the Act for preventing the adulteration of food,
drink, and drugs. This Act makes it incumbent upon all Metropolitan
Vestries and District Boards to appoint public analysts to
analyse all articles of food, drink, and drags, on the request of
any parishioners, for a fee not exceeding ten shillings; nnd
imposes the duty on the Vestries and Boards through their
Inspectors of Nuisances, of procuring and submitting for analysis
samples of articles of food, or drink, and drags suspected to be
adulterated, and on the articles being certified as adulterated,
of proceeding before a magistrate against the party selling or
adulterating.
The Board, in January, 1873, appointed Charles Heisch,
Esq., F.C.S., Professor of Chemistry in the Medical College of
the Middlesex Hospital, as the analyst for the District, and
although his services have not yet been greatly called into requisition,
the Board can already testify to the beneficial operation of
the Act, and anticipate great advantage from it hereafter.
The mortality for the year 1872 has been favourable, the
number of deaths being 27 less than in the previous year, notwithstanding
the continuing increase of population. And the
death rate, stated by the Medical Officer to be 14.84 per 1000 of
inhabitants is not only lower than the average annual death rate,
from 1861 to 1870, in any of the Registrar General's districts
and sub-districts within the Metropolis and City Police District,
but is also lower than the average rate in Lewisham for the same
period.
The following is a summary of the Table (IX.) in the
Medical Officer's Report showing the classes of disease causing
the deaths which occurred in the year, and the ages at which they
took place:—