Report of Royal Commission upon the Administration and Operation of the Contagious Diseases Acts.
- Great Britain. Royal Commission on the Contagious Diseases Acts
- Date:
- 1871
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Report of Royal Commission upon the Administration and Operation of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.
865/952 page 767
![I APPENDIX. APPENDIX A. The Contagious Diseases Acts, 1864, 1866, and 1869. 28 & 29 Vict., Cap. LXXXV. An Act for the Prevention of Contagious Diseases at certain Naval and Military Stations. r29th July 1864.] Whereas it is expedient to make provisions calculated to prevent the spreading of certain Contagious Diseases in the places to which this Act applies : Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : i title. 1. This Act may be cited as The Contagious Diseases Prevention Act, 1864. 2. In this Act— The term contagious disease means venereal disease, including gonorrhoea : The term hospital includes ward of a hospital: The term public place means a thoroughfare or other public street or place, or a house or room which is open to the inspection of the police. 3. The places to which this Act applies shall be the places mentioned in the first schedule hereto, the limits of which places shall, for the purposes of this Act, be such as are defined in that schedule. 4. Expenses incurred in the execution of this Act shall be paid under the direction of the Loid High Admiral of the United Kingdom, or the Commissioners for executing his office (hereafter in this Act styled the Admiralty), and of such one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State as Her Majesty thinks fit, for the time being, to intrust with the seals of the War Department (hereafter in this Act styled the Secretary of State for War), out of money to be provided by Parliament for the purpose. 5. The Admiralty and the Secretary of Stati; for War shall, on the passing of this Act, appoint a superior medical officer of Her Majesty's navy or army, to be, during pleasure, inspector of hospitals certified under this Act, and may from time to time, on the death, resignation, or removal from office of any such inspector, appoint another such officer in his stead. 6. On the application of the authorities having the di- rection or management of any hospital desiring that such hospital should be certified under this Act, the Admiralty and the Secretary of State for War may direct the inspector of hospitals to examine and report to them on the con- dition of that hospital, and on the regulations established for its direction and management. 7. If, on such examination and report, the hospital ap- pears to the Admiralty and the Secretary of State for War to be useful and efficient for the purposes of this Act, and is certified in writing to be so by the Admiralty and the Secretary of State for War, the same shall be deemed a certified hospital for the purposes of this Act; and every such hospital is in this Act referred to as a certified hos- pital ; and the Admiralty and the Secretary of State for War shall state in their certificate what persons or officers for the time being are to be deemed the authorities of the hospital for the purpose of exercising the powers herein-after given, and the persons or officers so stated shall be such authorities accordingly. 8. The ins]iector shall from time to time visit and inspect every certified hospital. 9. If on the report of the inspector respecting any certified hospital the Admiralty and the Secretary of State for War think proper to withdraw their certificate, that hospital shall thereupon cease to be a certified hospital for the purposes of this Act. 10. A notice shall be published in the London or Dublin Gazette (as the case may require) of the granting or with- drawal of any certificate relative to .my hospital vmder this Act; and a copy of the Gazette containing any such notice shall be sufficient evidence of such granting or withdrawal; and any such certificate shall be presumed to be in force until the withdrawal thereof is proved. 11. Where an information, in the form given in the second schedule to this Act, or to the like effect, is laid before a justice of the peace by a superintendent or inspector of metropolitan police, or by a superintendent or inspector of police or constabulary authorised to act in any place to whi'^h this Act applies, or by any medical practitioner duly registered as such, the justice may, if he thinks fit, issue to the woman named in the information a notice in the form given in the same schedule, or to the like effect. 12. A constable or other peace officer shall serve such notice on the woman to whom it is directed, by delivering the same to her personally, or by leaving the same with some person for her at her last or usual place of abode. 13. In either of the following cases; namely,— (1.) If the woman on whom such notice is served appears herself, or by some person on her behalf, at the time and place appointed in the notice, or at some other time and place appoint3d by adjournment: (2.) If she does not so appear, and it is shown (on oath) to the justice present that the notice was served on her a reasonable time before the time appointed for her appearance, or that reasonable notice of such ad- journment was given to her (as the case may be) : the justice present, on oath being made before him sub- stantiating the matter of the information to his satisfaction, may, if he thinks fit, order such woman to be taken to a certified hospital for medical examination. 14. Such order shall be a sufficient warrant for any constable or peace officer to whom the order is delivered to apprehend such woman, and to convey her with all prac- ticable speed to the hospital therein named, and for the authorities of the hospital to cause her to be examined by some medical officer of such hospital, for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not she has a contagious disease, and in case, on such examination, it is ascertained that she has a contagious disease, then to detain her in the hospital for twenty-four hours from the time of her being brought there. 15. Any woman on whom notice is served by any constable or peace officer, in pursuance of this Act, may signify to him her willingness to submit herself voluntarily for examination to the medical officers of the nearest certified hospital; and in that case it shall be the duty of such constable or peace officer to accompany her to such hospital, and her examination shall then be made in the same manner and with tlie &ame consequences as if she had been brought to that hospital to he examined in pursuance of the order of a justice. 16. Within the said period of twenty-four hours the authorities of such hospital shall cause a certificate, signed by the medical officer who has made such examination, stating (if the fact be so) that on such examination it has been ascertained +.hat such woman has a contagious disease, to be made out and laid before the justice by whom the order was made, or some otlier justice having the like jurisdiction ; and thereupon such justice may, it he thinks fit, order the authorities of suclr hospital to detain such woman in the hospital for medical treatment until dis- charged by such authorities, and such order shall be a sufficient warrant to such authorities to detam such woman, 5 D 4 The gi-ant- ing or with- drawal oC certificate to be published in Gazette. On itifornia- tion, justice may issue to woman named in information a notice as in second scliedule. Constable t-> serve notice on woman. Justice may- order medi- cal exami- nation at certified hospital. Medical examination at certified hospital. Power for woman to submit to oxamiiiation voluntarily. Under order of justice woman may be detained for medical treatment in hospital.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21365945_0865.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
