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Superintendent Registrar with which it is proposed to invest graduallyMedical
Officers of Health, but the Vestry are mistaken if they
suppose that Superintendent Registrars have anything to do with the
registration of uncertified deaths, and the Registrar General would
certainly oppose any scheme for placing Registrars under any other
authority than that under which they at present discharge their duties
to his satisfaction.
Upon the foregoing paragraphs your Committee beg to report:—
1. That in their opinion the Medical Officer of Health for the District
should be charged with the duty of inquiring into all uncertified deaths,
with a view to certify forthwith all such deaths as, in his opinion, do not
require formal inquest by a Coroner and Jury.
Your Committee are of opinion that this would be a simpler, speedier,
safer and cheaper inquiry of first-instance than that of convening a Coroner
and Jury in every case. What is proposed, therefore, is to relieve the
Coroner of the first-instance inquiry; and to devolve upon him only such
cases as the Medical Officer of Health may consider to require a formal
inquest. In that case there could be no conflict between the Medical
Officer of Health and the Coroner, but the Coroner might retain the power
of ordering an inquest in any case in which representations were made to
him. Registration would thus be expedited, annoyance would be avoided
to surviving relatives, and expense to the rates would be lessened.
2. As to the Superintendent Registrars, your Committee are aware that
they have nothing to do with the registration of deaths, uncertified or
otherwise. But the Medical Officers of Health—were they invested with
the office of Superintendent Registrars as vacancies occur (subject of
course to the approval of the Registrar General)—would be able inter alia
to assume a greater responsibility as to the registration of uncertified
deaths than at present can safely be left to the subordinate Registrars.
In such case the subordinate Registrars would refer uncertified deaths to
their own superintendent in the person of the Medical Officer of Health.
3. Your Committee are of opinion also that the prevention of disease
by Local Sanitary Authorities would be facilitated by aggregating under
them many functions now vested in various and diverse authorities, such
as the duties of Superintendent Registrars; of Vaccination, and of Inspectors
of Vaccination; the supervision of Milk Shops; of Slaughter Houses; of
noxious and offensive Trades; and of Factories. In all these matters the
duties of action, in the first instance, should be aggregated under the
Local Sanitary Authority, subject to such controlling or originating power