Volume 2

First-[second] report of the Royal Sanitary Commission.

  • Great Britain. Royal Sanitary Commission
Date:
1869-1874
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: First-[second] report of the Royal Sanitary Commission. 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.

    144/418 (page 136)
    ^■'^L, arranged from motives of convenience, tliat is to say, ittcoc^ sq. ^i^g union is taken at some town or some central point, March 1S70. '^^^^ ilietx the country tliat is nearest to it is tlirown into - that union. 11.049. {Dr. Acland.) How is it with regard to your districts for the registration of births and deaths ; are they of the same area as counties or unions, or how are tliey arranged ?—rThe poor law arrangements have been talven as the basis for them. The superin- tendent registrar's districts correspond to the 163 unions, and the registrar's districts to the 719 dispen- sary districts. 11.050. Tlie medical otRcers in the dispensaries are very often the registrars, are they not ?—Yes, they are the registrars. 11.051. It has been discussed in Ireland, has it not, whether there should not be a registration of sickness as well as of death ?—I am not aware of that. 11.052. Do you think that the medical officers had better be the registrai's ?—I would have recommended the police as registrars for births and deaths. J 1,053. For what reason would you recommend them?—Because all the statistics which we get through the police are the best statistics we have in Ireland. They collect the census, they collect agricultural statistics, and statistics of crime; they are admirably organised, and all the statistics which we get from them are perfectly done, whereas medical officers or professional men are not necessarily skilful at sta- tistics, and they are more or less connected with the subject, wliereas the police are perfectly independent. 11.054. The Commission have had evidence ad- vising them that registration of sickness should be superadded to the registration department of England ; would there be a difficulty then if the police were registrars with you ?—1 think that would be too minute a thing for the police. What the police would register would be events like birtlis and deaths and notorious events in the country, but sickness of course only medical men could register. 11.055. Would the medical men of eitlier dispen- saries or unions be able to do it, do you think ?—I have not formed an opinion upon that subject, but I speak generally. I have collected a great deal of statistics, some from the police and some from other public officers, and I always find that the police statistics are by far the most complete and the best. 11.056. Are the dispensary medical officers often coroners?—No, I think not often. There are very few coroners ; there are about three coroners for each county in Ireland on an average. 11.057. Then the office is hardly compatible with the work of medical men ?—Some coroners are medical men, but some are not. They are not uniformly so. 11.058. Do you know whether the poor law medical inspectors are debarred from private practice?—I believe so. 11.059. Do their duties occupy their entire time? —They do. 11.060. It is not so with the dispensary medical officers, is it ?—No, their salary is quite inadequate to enable them to do it. 11.061. But supposing they have extensive sanitary duties to perform, how are they paid for them ; by an increase of salary, or by a commission upon their work ?—1 do not know the detail. There was power to the Poor Law Commissioners to pay them specially for any medical duties under the Diseases Prevention Act, but that was only a temporary duty. 11.062. Then they were specially paid for that work ?—Yes, they were. 11.063. (Mr. C'live.) Have the medical dispensary officers any direct communication Avith the Poor Law Commissioners in Dublin ?—^They communicate chiefly with the committee of guardians. 11.064. Always through the guardia,ns ?—Chiefly. 11.065. Are there no directions coming from the Poor Law Commissioners to the medical officers except through the guardians ?—I do not know the details, but they receive general circulars from the comnuissioners and make a quarterly return to them. 11.066. {Chairman.) Does not the Act of the 3l and 32 Victoria, chapter 74, which is an Act to extend the powers of the poor law inspectors and medical inspectors in Ireland, practically empower tlie same inspectors to inspect, under the Poor Law Act of 1847, the Medical Act of 1851, and the Sanitary Act of 1866 ?—I will give a slight history of the Act. The Poor Law Commissioners in Ireland wei'e separated from the English Poor Law Commissioners by the first Act, the 10th and 11th of Victoria, and were formed into a separate board, and they had power to appoint inspectors like the poor law inspectors in England. Then came the second Act, an Act peculiar to Ireland, and which does not exist in England, namely, the Dispensary Act of 1851, the 14th and 15th of Victoria, chapter 68, and under that Act there were certain medical inspectors appointed. The pre- vention of diseases and inquiry into public health under the Act of 1866 was then enacted to be deemed one of the purposes for which such medical inspectors have been or may be appointed in like manner as if its provisions had been referred to in the said Act of 1851 ; and by the Act of 1851 there were Commissioners for carrying out the Nuisances Removal and Diseases Prevention Act of 1848. These were the two Acts referred to, the 10th and 11th Victoria, chapter 90, and the 14th and 15th Victoria, cliapter 19. Then the 31st and 32nd of Victoria goes on to make direct provision that every inspector appointed or hereafter to be appointed under the provisions of the said Act, 10th and 11th of Victoria, chapter 90, to assist in the execution. of the Acts for the relief of the poor in Ireland, shall be deemed to be an inspector under the provi- sions of the second Act, that is, under the Irish Dispensary Act of 1851, also under the Sanitary Act of 1866. Since 1868 the distinction between the poor law inspectors and tiie medical poor law inspectors has been terminated, and the same officers are inspectors for all purposes. 11.067. {Mr. Poiuell.) It is the case, is it not, that since the year 1866, excepting the statute which you have mentioned, there has been no sanitary legislation for Ireland ?—No, there has not. 11.068. You have not had the advantage of the Sewerage Utilization Act of 1867 ? — There is a doubt about it; from the defect which I have pointed out it is possible, but it is doubtful, because it does not define the authority. Ireland is not expressly excluded, but the definition of the sewer authority goes liaclv to the definition of 1865 and not to the amended definition of 1866. 11.069. Are you in a position to give us any in- formation as to efficient worliing in practice of the inspection which you have described ?—I have only a very general knowledge about it. I have always heard that the Act has given satisfaction. 11.070. Do you find that the inspectors do really keep the local authorities up to their duties ?—The Poor Law Commission has always been most efficient in keeping the local authorities up to their duty. 11.071. I refer to their duty not qua poor [law guardians, but in sanitary matters ?—I do not know, except that I have seen no complaint. ] 1 072, Have you no knowledge how far through- out Ireland nuisances of various kinds are removed, tnid how far the dwellings of the Irish people are in a satisfactory condition ?—With regard to the city of Dublin I do know that the corporation of Dublin Health Committee has been most efficient and most active in carrying the Act into effect. With regard to the rest of Ireland I have not a local knowledge, but I know as far as I can notice, and from seeing that there are no public complaints of the Act, and the expenditure of money shows that it has been carried out. 11.073. Have the inspectors made any complaints ? —I do not know; I referred to complaints that became public. 11.074. Have you reason to know that the inspec-