The medical and legal aspects of sanitary reform / by Alexander P. Stewart, M.D. and Edward Jenkins, Barrister-at-law.

  • Stewart, Alexander Patrick, 1813-1883.
Date:
1867
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The medical and legal aspects of sanitary reform / by Alexander P. Stewart, M.D. and Edward Jenkins, Barrister-at-law. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    153 have each one; 16 have two; and four have three inspectors of nuisances; while in 347, one man holds the double office either of surveyor and inspector of nuisances, or of inspector and collector, or unites in himself all the three of&ces of surveyor, inspector, and collector. It struck me as strange that small places with not more than 800 inhabitants should have two inspectors, while large towns, such as Brighton, Bradford, Merthyr Tydfil, Nottingham, Ports- mouth, and Sunderland, with populations varying from 50,000 to 106,218, have no more than two; and yet more strange that Preston, with 86,000, Bristol with 154,000, and Sheffield with 200,000 of a population, should have only one ! And what is one among so many ? I found also that in 92—one-sixth of the 570 places enume- rated—oSQcers of health had been appointed, and it struck me as very strange that 63 of these held office in places whose population was under 10,000, while only 29 remained for towns with large popula- tions ; and 111 towns with populations varying from 20,000 t) 200,000 had no officer of health at all. These results, obtained witi much labour and expenditure of time, seemed to me too startling to be trustworthy; and the Privy Council reports contained scarcely a syllable in reference to this subject, on which one would thini they ought to contain the fullest and most accurate information. I ac- cordingly sought a check in the Municipal Corporations' Directory,' a work very recently published, and containing much useful informa- tion; but I found, after a very careful examination, that while everj other officer, however insignificant, is thought worthy of insertion, medical officers of health scarcely ever appear, not even those in the metropolis being inserted; and inspectors of nuisances are very oftei awanting. I enter into these details for a special reason, viz., to demonstrate the necessity of having an annual Parliamentary returi of all these officers, of the population and extent of the districts undei their supervision, of the duties devolving upon them, and of the salaries paid to them. Such a return would shew us at a glance which places we should take an example from, and which, again, should be made examples of, and would form an indispensable pre- liminary to sound and comprehensive legislation. Baffled in the quarters to which I have referred, but considering it essential to have thoroughly accurate and trustworthy information on a subject of so great importance, I felt that I must myself under- take this parliamentary inquiry, and commenced correspondence, as my distinguished friend Mr. Rumsey did before publishing his work on State Medicine, with some of the many friends whom I have the privilege of knowing in London and throughout the country. I also ventured to apply to not a few to whom I must have been entirely unknown, in the hope that the freemasomy which exists among those who have a common object and end in view would not only -excuse my boldness, but respond to my appeal. The result proves that I was not mistaken, for in only one case out of more than a hundred have I been disappointed of a return; and these have generally been prompt, always clear and cordial, and often full. The