Volume 1

Health lectures for the people.

Date:
1883-1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Health lectures for the people. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    682/896 (page 216)
    Association some years ago, at Inverness, it was stated that the Public Health Act is a dead letter in the north of Scotland. The same thing might be said of many parts of the Lowlands. Thus, in Berwickshire, only 17 parishes out of 32 have reached the stage of self-consciousness in this matter; in Dumfries, only 31 out of 43 ; and in Koxburgh, only 19 out of 32. A good deal of this apathy has arisen from the unfortunate idea, which has taken possession of many of the Parochial Boards, that the Public Health Act is a permissive act, that they are not bound to obey it and make themselves clean, but are entitled to remain dirty if they choose. I trust, if any of you have any influence in any part of the country, that you will help to destroy that mischievous delusion. The Public Health Act is universally binding on every Board and every individual in the country, and if they will not obey it, they may be compelled to do so. Then it is impossible to deny that the Parochial Boards are not very suitable authorities for public health. I do not refer to the political question whether they should be freely elected by the ratepayers. But I will tell you what the Board of Supervision said about them in 1867. Many of them, altogether uninformed on such subjects, cannot appreciate the effects of filth and nuisance, of foul air and impure water in generating, propagating, and aggravating epidemic and endemic disease. The people generally are too much inclined to regard epidemic disease as a visitation which cannot by any pre- caution be averted; and they often object to be taxed for the removal of the most injurious sanitary defects, because they have all their lives been accustomed to them, and do not therefore regard them as evils. In such cases, the members of the local authority are sometimes unwilling to incur the odium of imposing the necessary rates, unless they can escape the consequent un- popularity, by shewing that they do so under legal compulsion. The men who are prepared to incur popular displeasure in order to do good to the people against their will are nowhere numerous, and when that displeasure may involve the loss of local dignity and emolument, are probably everywhere rare. The figures I have mentioned prove that the local authorities have shewn greater energy and public spirit during recent years, but it is certain tha^.