Richard Griffin

THE POOR-LAW REFORM ASSOCIATION

sca state,the education, the morals and the habits of those who inabit different places; we are unable to demonstrate the causes of social evils; and therefore we carsnot fairly call upon the Legislature to inaugurate the required reforms. 9. Another obstacle to a correct territorial division for statistical objects, is the co-existence of several kinds of local administrative bodies, exercising conflicting functions, within different areas of jurisdiction. Various administrative duties, of a sanitary or reformatory nature, are performed in most towns by two rival bodies (a Board of Guardians and a Town Council or Local Board of Healtlh), nmanaging districts, which differ widely in extent; the vital statistics being collected under the authority of that Local Board which has been the most distrusted as regards sanitary management. 10. The practical evils of limited and isolated jurisdictions, in the execution of measures of public health, are many and serious-evils to the inhabitants included, and evils to those excluded. 11. It is of paramount importance to extend sanitary inspection and regulation to suburban and rural districts. The outsklirts of towns are more and more peopled by the humbler classes of society, and it is therefore increasing-ly necessary to promote a better description of dwellings for working people out of towns, either near railway stations or withiin accessible distance of their places of labour. 12. Measures of public health should be extended to the whole population of the kingdom, without reference to any district-rate of mortality. It is absurd to defer the application of preventive measures until the fatal result of neglect (namely, a high proportion of deaths, the precise ratio of whiclh different parties cannot agree upon) be detected in any place. 13. No system of territorial division for statistical purposes and for local self-government deserves conisideration, which would not secure for every portion of the country, whether town or rural parislh, tlle superintendence of a uniform adininistrative machinery, competent to collect all returns relating to the numbers, the vital force (ages of the living), the nmortality, the diseases, and the reprodiction of the population; as well as to carry into effect all sanitary precautions. 14. A public registration of diseases should have special regard to their causation, and to their relations with residence and occupation; while observations of meteorology, and of the varying conditions of the animal and vegetable kingdomus (agricultural statistics), shouild be concurrently made in each superior registration district. And these comibined observations and records in each locality should be publi:shed perio(lically for the instruction of its inhabitants. 15. Again, the law should no longer confer badly-defined powers upon two or more rival boards in the same place. If each of the existing Local Boards and Councils were fairly represented in a superior court, with a larger jurisdiction than now belongs to any of those bodies-as theDistrict Boards of London are in its Metropolitan Board-all reasonable objections to a transfer of local functions might be avoided. 10. As to the extent and form of the proposed larger districts for collecting and registering vital anid social statistics anid for local management (the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Board of Works being wholly excluded from present considerations), each might conitain, on the average, two or more parochial unions. Wlherever a correction of existing boundaries might be deemed necessary, the natural features of the locality should be carefully borne in mind; each parish or cluster of population being included in that district, the principal town of which would be most easy of access; and special regard being had to density of population. 17. Every sanitary jurisdiction should be provided with a superintending officer of health, debarred from private professional engagements, and performing a variety of most important public functions; and such sanitary jurisdiction slhould be an exact aggregate of a sufficient number of smaller districts for medical visitation, wbich should be either identical with the registration sub-districts, or sub-divisions of them. 18. Recapitulation of practical suggestions.

SALARIES OF POOR-LAW MEDICAL OFFICERS

lously inadequate, and the matter has been referred back for further consideration. As a contrast to these, the Mutford and Lothingland Guardians have rejected by nineteen votes to sixteen a recommendation that the salary of their workhouse medical officer should be increased from ?60 to ?80. The position in this Union is worthy of some further consideration. The workhouse has 257 inmates, and 121 of these are under medical treatment. Under his contract the medical officer has to supply all drugs. During the discussion several