[On the clauses in the draft Glasgow Police Bill which have reference to the prevention and mitigation of disease ...].
- Duncan, Eben.
- Date:
- [1882]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: [On the clauses in the draft Glasgow Police Bill which have reference to the prevention and mitigation of disease ...]. 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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![reference to the Prevention and Mitigation of Disease. By Ebkn. Duncan, M.D., F.F.P.S.G. [Read before the Society, 6th December, 18S2.] The first twenty-five sections of the Draft Glasgow Police Bill deal with Police regulations for the government of the city, which have no bearing upon sanitation or public health. The 26th section is the only section of the Act which deals exclusively with matters relating to the public health and to the prevention of epidemic diseases. It is divided into five sub-sections. In sub- sections 1, 2, 4, and 5, the alterations and additions which are made upon the Public Health Act of Scotland are, with one exception—to which I shall subsequently refer—comparatively unimportant, and the amount of disease which can be prevented or mitigated by their operation will be a very small percentage of the average amount under present conditions. Sub-section No. 1 contains four clauses which define the sanitary powers of the Police Board and of its officers. These powers are substantially the same as those given to every Local Authority by the Act of 1867. In sub-section No. 2, which relates to the removal of nuisances, the only important difference which I note is that such cases as the smoke nuisance, which, according to the Public Health Act should be tried before the Sheriff', according to the provisions of the Police Act are decided in a Magistrates’ Court. This change in the administration of the clause is certainly not in the public interest, because many of the magistrates are themselves offenders in these matters, and will, consequently, be very unlikely to administer the law impartially. The case of a magistrate being tried by a brother magistrate for a smoke nuisance is not an unheard-of case in Glasgow. As the polluted state of the air of this city is one of the most important causes of disease and death](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24920058_0009.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
