A Manual of public health for the use of local authorities, Medical Officers of Health, and others, / by W.H. Michael, W.H. Corfield, and J.A. Wanklyn ; edited by Ernest Hart.

Date:
1874
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A Manual of public health for the use of local authorities, Medical Officers of Health, and others, / by W.H. Michael, W.H. Corfield, and J.A. Wanklyn ; edited by Ernest Hart. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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

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    Evidence of M. O. H. vice. of the Medical Officer of Health, who is then responsible for the result of his recommendation. Another object of his visiting the place is that he should be able, if called upon, to give evidence in a Court of Justice that a nuisance injurious to health exists there. It must be pointed out at once that it is not his duty either to take legal proceed- ings or to appear in Court to support them. He may have to be, and usually is, called upon to give evidence in these cases, and some Justices even insist upon his being called as a witness. It is the practice of some Medical Officers of Health to conduct cases in Court themselves. They Conduct of are however taking upon themselves by so doing, a re- sponsibility which is not properly theirs; and, in case of failure to obtain from a Justice the order required, it is plain that they are open to the charge of not having pro- perly conducted the case. Still less is it advisable that the Inspector of Nuisances should conduct cases himself, although it is his duty to institute proceedings in the first instance. It is plainly advisable, to say the least of it, that j^ggai ad- the Yestry Clerk, or some legal adviser of the Sanitary Authority, be present to conduct the case. The persons summoned often get legally advised, and are represented by their solicitors, and it is obviously too great a responsi- bility for either the Medical Officer of Health, or the Inspector of ISTuisances, to take upon himself to conduct cases without legal assistance. It is necessary to mention in the summons the date at which the nuisance, which is ^i^^^^' objected to, existed, and it is advisable that the date men- tioned should be that of the day on which the Medical Officer visited the place ; and it must also be remembered that the plea that the nuisance has been removed since that date, is of no avail. It is sufficient to prove, to the satisfaction of the Justices, that it existed on that date. In all cases an order should be prepared beforehand by Order ready the Medical Officer of Health, stating precisely the struc- tural alterations, if any, that are necessary for the abate- ment of the nuisance; and the Justices should be asked to make this order. Of course, in some cases, although issuing an order, they alter the wording of the one that is submitted to them, or omit parts of it when they do not 0 Date men-