1090 THE ELEVENTH INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CONGRESS.

inspection, the necessity for which had been pointed out in a- circular letter recently issued by the Local Government Boardin view of the approach of cholera, applied at a certain housefor admission for the purposes of inspection and was refused.From an outside observation he had arrived at the opinion’that there were sanitary nuisances ; the soil pipe did not" appear " to be properly ventilated, and he saw through theglass door a sink in the scullery which did not "appear

" to’ discharge outside ; in the yard a bell trap that " seemed tobe dry ; and from the state of the adjacent houses in otherparticulars he had reason to believe that the house was not inthe state of sanitary excellence in which it should have been.It transpired in the course of cross-examination that duringthe three years and two months that he had held office, thesanitary inspector had been obliged to condemn no less than2000 waterclosets, out of a total of 5000 houses, the inspee-tion of which had not yet been completed. The application- in question was made to the magistrates for an order to enter’the premises.

The provisions of the Public Health Act, 1875, which bearupon the case are the following : Section 35 enacts that everyhouse newly built or rebuilt shall be provided with a suincientwatercloset, earth closet or privy. Section 36 lays down that ifa house within the district of the local authority appears to such. authority by the report of their surveyor or inspector ofnuisances to be without a sufficient watercloset, earth closet orprivy they shall serve a written notice on the owner or occupierto provide the same within a reasonable time. Section 40 enactsthat every local authority shall provide that all drains, water-closets, earth closets, privies, ash pits and cesspools within theirdistrict be constructed and 7wpt so as not to be a nuisance or igt-jurious to health. Section 92 enacts that every local authorityshall cause an inspection of their district to be made from timeto time to ascertain what nuisances exist calling for abate-ment. Section 102 lays down that the local authority orany of their officers shall be admitted into any premises forthe purpose of examining as to the existence of any nuisancethereon ...... at any time between the hours of 9 in the fore-noon and 6 in the afternoon.Most of the correspondeits who have written to the daily

papers complaining of the hardship involved by the actionof the local authority appear to us to have grounded their,objections mainly upon the supposition that the sanitaryauthority had no power to interfere save in the eventof a nuisance existing; but the fallacy of this notionwill be at once evident on reading the provisions of thePublic Health Act which we have quoted above. Indeed,- even the learned counsel for the defendant seems to have; grounded his defence upon the same argument, for he is

reported as saying that "the bench would see from Section102 of the Act it is provided that any local sanitaryauthority or any of their officers shall be admitted to the

premises for the purposes of examination as to any nuisance ;but it must be interpreted reasonably, and the only reason-able interpretation was that there must be a primâ-facie caseshown, the whole principle involved being whether thesanitary inspector has the power to knock at the door and goin or whether the true interpretation is that a primâ-facie casemust be made out. " The truth is that the sanitary authorityhas a twofold duty devolving on it-viz., not only to correct. nuisances when they do exist, but to see by periodical inspec-tion that nuisances do not occur either in houses in course oferection or in those already built. The points mentionedby the sanitary inspector certainly constitute legitimatereasons for interference, and the local authority appear tohave been further justified in their action by the circularletter of the Local Government Board, although we mustpresume from the enormous number of closets condemned thatthe routine inspection of houses had commenced prior to the

reception of this letter. It is a pity, however, that more evidence,on certain points was not elicited at the trial. For instance,were any of the closets condemned found in houses erected. since the passing of the Public Health Act, 1875 ; and if so,how came this to pass ? Of what pattern were the closetswhich were removed and by what sort were they replaced ?A large number of the recommendations of the sanitaryinspector for improvement appear to have been in the’ direction of waterclosets ; and we read in the letter of a-correspondent, resident over twenty years in Folkestone,"that the water company had decided against valvewaterclosets and a three-gallon flushing cistern ; that thesanitary authority have condemned what is considered

by experts to be the best lead-trap in existence." Newpatterns of closets are constantly being introduced, and

fashion changes in these things as in everything else, so thatunless those removed actually presented grave defects whichwould have rendered the occupants of the houses in which theywere in use liable to serious danger in the event of an out-break of epidemic disease, the contagion of which is trans-mitted by fsecal emanations, such t,s typhoid fever or cholera,the action of the -Folkestone local authority would seem tohave been somewhat over zealous.

THE ELEVENTH INTERNATIONALMEDICAL CONGRESS.

A MEETING of the English Committee was held at 1,Harewood-place, on Friday, April 28th, at 5 P.M. The

following were present : Mr. T. Bryant (in the chair),Sir James Paget, Sir Andrew Clark, Sir W. Mac Cormac,Sir Dyce Duckworth, Sir J. Fayrer, Dr. Saundby, Dr.Dreschfeld, Dr. Withers Moore, Dr. C. Taylor, Mr.

Shirley Murphy and Mr. Makins. It was resolved thatSir W. B. Dalby, Dr. F. Semon and Mr. C. S. Tomes beasked to join the committee with a view to bringing its con-stitution into closer agreement with the sections of the Con-gress by giving representation thereon to Otology, Laryngo-logy and Odontology. The committee decided to facilitatethe business of the Congress by giving information both in thepress and privately, but considered that matters relating totravelling, lodging &c. would be more satisfactorily treatedby Messrs. Cook and Son, of Ludgate-circus, with whom thehon. secretary was directed to enter into relations. It wasresolved that Mr. Bryant, Sir William Mac Cormac and SirDyce Duckworth should form a working sub-committee, Mr.Makins to act as honorary secretary.The committee is able to give the following information asto the most recent arrangements. Communications to bemade to the Congress must be announced not later thanJune 30th, 1893. Abstracts of the same must be sent notlater than July 3lst for printing and later distribution amongstthe members. The membership subscription may be paid inRome, or at an earlier date if wished. The ticket admittingto meetings &c. will be issued in Rome and is distinct fromthe member’s ticket referred to below, which is for use on thejourney only and for which nothing is paid. Members will,however, in any case be required to obtain the followingcards and papers in order to benefit by the various reductionsmade by the railway companies : (1) Ticket of membership;(2) letter of invitation ; (3) card of legitimisation. No. 1 willbe required by the English railway companies, No. 2 bythe French railway companies, and No. 3 by the Italianrailway companies when the member requires to pro-ceed direct to Rome in place of taking a circular ticket.N. B. — The French and Italian railways alone give a

reduction of fares ; none is allowed by the Swiss or

German companies. Passengers travelling direct may leaveby any station on the Great Eastern, South Eastern, or

London, Brighton and South Coast Railways and may travelto Rome and back for a single fare, one ticket being neededto Paris and a second to Rome. Members who wish to makea circular tour in Italy should book to one of the frontierstations, Modena or Ventimiglia, and thence can obtaincircular tickets with a further reduction of 20 per cent. on thefares. These may be so arranged as to allow the passenger(1) to return to the same frontier station as he started from ;(2) to start at Ventimiglia and return by Modena or vice versic,(3) to start at either and return to one of the frontier stationsof Switzerland or Austria (Luino, Chiasso, Ala, Pantebba,Cormons). In this case it must be borne in mind that noreduction is given on the Swiss or German railways afterpassing the frontier line.The English railways admit only actual members to the

reduced fares, but the French and Italian railways allow thereduction to ladies and children of members provided withthe necessary papers of legitimisation properly filled up bythe owner. As already mentioned, the ticket of membershipissued for the journey gives no right of access to the meet-ings of the Congress ; but ladies wishing to attend the meet-ings and join in the festivities can do so on obtaining a ladymember’s ticket, for which a subscription of ten lires (abouteight shillings) must be paid. By special decree of the

,Government all members of the Congress, ladies or gentle-

1091BACTERIOLOGY IN LONDON.

men, will have free access to all national museums and

galleries and to the works at Pompeii.The honorary secretary (Mr. G. H. Makins, 47, Charles-

treet, Berkeley-square, W.) will give any information in hispower regarding the arrangements of the Congress.

BACTERIOLOGY IN LONDON.

THE vacation course of Bacteriology for general practitionershas, we are glad to hear, been greatly appreciated, and wemust congratulate the London Post-graduate Committee uponthe result. Twenty practitioners in all attended, three beingmedical men from Australia, one from New Zealand, threefrom Scotland, whilst the remainder were recruited fromBradford, Preston, Lincoln, Chesham, Blackheath and London.At the conclusion of the course Dr. Bell of Bradford, whohas contributed valuable papers on Woolsorter’s Disease (inthe columns of THE LANCET) and on Anthrax and An-thracæmia, rose to address his colleagues. Dr. Bell said :" As this is the last time of meeting for this vacationof the London Post-graduate Course on Bacteriology,I am sure you will all agree with me it is appropriate thatbefore we separate we should acknowledge our obligations toProfessor Crookshank and Dr. Hewlett for their great kind-ness and courtesy to us during the time we have been here.I am sure we shall all carry away with us grateful recollectionsof our pleasant and profitable meetings. I think we shouldalso acknowledge the ability and skill of Professor Crookshankand Dr. Hewlett in their endeavours to inoculate our mindswith the spores of bacteriological knowledge ; it is to behoped that these spores will find suitable nutrient media inwhich they will grow and yield important results. To thosewho have not passed far beyond the threshold of the pro-fession and who are full of hope, enthusiasm and possibilitiesI may say that I know of no department of medicine theexact study of which is so likely to yield beneficent results.I may also for you express the hope that this laboratory,which has been so much indebted to Professor Crookshank inthe past and is now so much dependent upon his fosteringand fatherly care, may be the parent from which cultureswill be made which will develop colonies of bacteriologists invarious parts of the world and that the King’s CollegeBacteriological Department may thus have a direct con-nexion with the solution of some of those great questions inmedicine and with the control of some of the deadly diseaseswhich will be mastered in the near future. I have now on

your behalf much pleasure in offering Professor Crookshankand Dr. Hewlett our sincere and hearty thanks for all theirgoodness to us during the time we have been here." Pro-fessor Crookshank, in thanking Dr. Bell and all those present,said that he had not only derived great pleasure in instructingsuch earnest workers, but it was a source of great gratifica-tion to him that 119 medical and scientific men had passedthrough the laboratory since Oct. 1st, 1892, and that sincethe opening of the laboratory over 500 persons, many fromvery distant parts, had received instruction in bacteriologyat King’s College.

APPLICATION OF THE NEW FACTORY ACT.

MR. R. E. SPRAGUE ORAM, Chief Inspector of Fac-

tories, has just issued his first annual report. It will be

remembered that Mr. Whymper retired from the post of chief inspector in consequence of ill-health. The reportbefore us is of more than usual interest and importancebecause it is the first issued since the application of theFactory and Workshop Act of 1891. Mr. Whymper hadpointed out that the principal objects of this Act were torender the inspection of workshops more efficient, especiallyin regard to sanitation, and to provide more efficient pro-tection against machinery in factories. To attain these endsthe Act gives over to the local authorities the, sanitarycharge of workshops, which was formerly undertakenby the factory inspectors. Further, the Act raised the com-mencing age for children from ten to eleven years, a provisionwhich only came into force this year, and it prohibits the workof women for four weeks after childbirth. The two latter

clauses are the direct outcome of the Berlin Internationalt Conference on Labour held in 1890. But, though the localauthorities now have the power, they have not always the -inclination to deal with the sanitary condition of workshops.In that case, the factory inspector not only reports anysanitary defects he may notice to the sanitary authority, but,if the latter take no action, the factory inspector has power,under Section 2 of the Factory Act of 1891, to take pro-ceedings as if he were himself the sanitary authority. This.extends to men’s workshops and to laundries and is therefore-an important addition to previous legislation on the subject.Such, briefly, with the registration of new workshops and.the addresses of those who take work home, are the.new features of the Act which is now coming into force.The various factory inspectors report favourably as to theworking of the Act. Mr. Richmond, for the Liverpool district,says that Section 14 with regard to overtime, Section 26 as to .registration of workshops, and Section 27 as to outworkershave led to several prosecutions, and now the number ofnotices as to overtime and as to the opening of new factories-and workshops has greatly increased. The same is reportedfrom the Newcastle-on-Tyne district. In the Midland dis- tricts 350 prosecutions were proposed and nearly all of themcarried out ; but there was only one case of a woman work--ing within four weeks of her confinement. This latter

grievance represents a danger to the health of both mothers.and infants which in practice as well as in law has been well--nigh abolished by the Act.According to Mr. Hine, of the Leeds district, the sal’litary’

clauses have been very unevenly applied. Outside Leeds-they still remain a dead letter. The medical officers ofhealth of outlying districts have called the attention of theirsanitary authorities to the existence of unwholesome work-shops, but no action has been taken. From Bristol and fromSouth Wales come reports of prosecutions for not register-ing workshops and of the consequent influx of notices thatnew workshops were about to be opened. It also seems thatthe sanitary authorities and the inspectors working underthe Factory Acts are now acting more in harmony with eachother. This formerly was not always the case.At the end of the report there is a list of the convictions.

obtained under the Act, and this in itself suffices to show the-utility of such laws. For instance, 435 convictions were,obtained in the course of the year-which, in this case, ends,on Oct. 31st, 1892-for employing children under the age ofsixteen without certificates of fitness. It had been proposed,it may be remembered, to do away with the certifyingsurgeons. We protested against this at the time, and the -official reports now just issued confirm us in urging the utilityof such medical examination before young persons are allowed towork in factories. For various physical and mental reasons.3647 young persons and children were prevented from work-ing out of 269,087 examined. The principal causes forsuch rejection were, in order of the number of cases, firstly,general debility, then diseases or loss of the eye, diseases ofthe skin, scrofula and diseases of the bones, diseases of thechest, anasmia and heart disease, and diseases of the ear, nose.and throat ; and we are glad to note that 77 children andyoung persons were refused permission to work in conse-quence of their general condition of uncleanliness.Amongst other causes of prosecution 686 convictions were

obtained for employing children, young persons or womenbefore or after the legal hour, 451 convictions for employingchildren, young persons or women during meal times, and337 convictions for employing such persons beyond the legalhour on Saturday. These are only the principal heads under-which convictions were obtained. The sentences passedrelating only to sanitation were not numerous. There were-five convictions for exceeding the maximum limit of humidityin cotton mills, four for allowing a factory o workshop tobe overcrowded, and twenty-six for neglecting to lime-wash a factory or workshop. Presumedly the convictions.

’

concerning bad drainage and such matters will be recordedby the sanitary authorities and therefore do not appearin the report of the Chief Inspector of Factories. Itwould be useful, however, to know how many convictionswere obtained by the sanitary authorities acting in conse-

. quence of information received from the inspectors appointedunder the Factory Act. Nevertheless, in spite of thisslight deficiency, the report is full of most useful informa-tion, all tending to show the great improvements thatmay reasonably be expected to result from the rigorous.

: applica-tion of this very beneficent measure of factory’ legislation.