The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-23 00:00:00

PUBLIC HEALTH ACTS.

Sir B. HALL moved for leave to bring in two bills—
one to alter and amend the Public Health Act, and the
other to alter and amend the Nuisances Removal Act.
The right hon. baronet reminded the house of what was
done last session with reference to sanitary reform, and
stated that the subject had been referred to in the speech
from the throne no less than three times. It might be
thought thatthe most expedient course for him to take was
to move for a committee of inquiry in the first instance ;
but having investigated the subject since he had bee* at the
head of the Board of Health, he had felt it to be his duty
to ask for permission to introduce these two bills, and
if the house should so far agree as to allow them to go
to a second reading, he should then propose to refer the
bill to a select committee. He hoped, however, that no
time would be lost in passing them when they came
down from the select committee, because he believed it
would be found that they were absolutely necessary for
the preservation of the public health. He proposed by the
first bill to repeal entirely the existing Board of Health Act ;
to remodel it, adopting, of course, such clauses as were
good and engrafting the new matter upon them. He
proposed to repeal the right of plural voting, allowing
one vote only to each ratepayer, and enlarging the per
tentage of ratepayers, who should have power to put the
Board of Health Act in force. The bill would extend the
bc.rrowing power of local boards, and enable them to deal
more effectively with their own officers. The present
right of budding small houses back to back would be
prohibited, while the existing system of allowing the in-
spector who made the estimate to undertake the
contract would be prohibited. Great abases bad
arisen out of this latter system, and hence the neces-
sity of providing that the duty of inspectors should be
confined to the act of inspection only. The act
would have to be put in motion in localities either of
adoption or application, and the Board would remain as
it was. An officer, to be called a summoning officer,
would be appointed to summon the inhabitants of dis-
tricts to determine whether they would adopt the act or
not ; and by their resolution the General Board would
be guided. In point of fact, it would be left to the
ratepayers to determine whether the act should be ap-
plied or not ; but in some cases it would be necessary
to have the power of compulsorily applying the act to
places where the mortality exceeded a given rate, and
this power the bill would give to the General Board of
Health, as well as to attach places to districts where
the Public Health Act was already in furce. Under
this bill local boards would still have the power of ap-
pointing their own officers, of mapping out their local-
ities, and superintending the sewerage, and cleansing of
their districts, except in certain cases. Another impor-
tant provision in the bill, adopted by the house, would
have the effect of reducing the private business of Par-
liament, because it would enable local boards to acquire
lands, or improve their districts without coming to Par-
liament for the necessary power to do so. Since
1850, no less than 428 improvement bills had
been introduced into the house, at an expense
of 856,000!., and if this part of his bill were
adopted it would prove a great service to the public ;
but before the local board could put this new power in
force, they would have to go before the Court of Quarter
Session, and satisfy that Court that the object they had
in view was proper and just, as well as calcu-
lated to benefit the inhabitants of the district. Local
boards would still have power to make rules to raise
money on mortgage, to make bye-laws, but while they
exercised their power, they would be required annually
to make a report of their expenditure, and forward a
copy to every ratepayer, and the General Board of
Health would have to report to Parliament annually the
results shown by the whole of these local reports.
Mr. WILLIAMS expressed his approbation of the
course the hon. baronet who had just sat down intended
to pursue, and his regret that the first bill proposed did
not apply to the metropolis.

Sir B. HALL admitted that the original bill could
only be applied to the metropolis under particular cir-
cumstances. The second bill he was about to introduce
would, however, affect the metropolis, and be knew of
no place which more required the interference of sani-
tary legislation than the metropolis, especially when the
results in connection with the late epidemic were
considered. The honourable baronet then proceeded
to cite several instances as illustrative of the
beneficial operation of the proposed bill, could it have
been introduced at the period of the epidemic. He
afterwards called the particular attention of the house,
amongst other matters, to the singular manner in which
the City of London had been spared during the last visi-
tation, and quoted several in support of which he quoted
various statistics froth the report of Mr. Simons on the
subject ; and attributed nil gratifying circumstance
to the fact that the City of London bad been for
many years under good sanitary government.
After a few further observations, relative to the
report of Mr. Simons, upon the inquiry into
the recent outi•reak of cholera there, the hon. bart.
said that he thought the time was come when
public bodies ought to be compelled to carry
out the powers held out to them by Goverument for effi-
cient sanitary government, if it were found necessary for
the public health and benefit that these powers should
be applied. Proceeding next to explain the general aim
of the bill, the right hon. hart. said it proposed to establish
local authority in every district in the country, and pointed
out the provisions of the bill relative to theappointment of
a sanitary inspector, and his powers, amongst which the
right bon. baronet instanced the authority proposed to
be conferred upon that officer, of asking for admission to
houses in which be shouldf suspect the existence of a
nuisance, and, if refused, of summoning the parties
inhabiting them ; and also the power of the magistrates
to prohibit the habitatton of any house which should be
deemed unfit. In conclusion, the right hon. baronet
said, if the house should give leave to introduce the bill he
hoped it would came into operation at an early period
of the session, and so serve to prevent a recurrence of
the frightful epidemic by which we had last year been
visited. (hear.)
After a few words from Mr. W. A. WILKINSON and
Mn. THoRNLEY, leave was given to bring in the two
bills.

The ether orders were then disposed of, and the
house adjourned.

LAW INTELLIGENCE-(THIS DAY).

The fleets of
by Cardinal 'll,B for
COURT OF EXCHEQUER.
this
Y. WISEMAN.
case will be familiar to the reader.
It was an action libel arising out of a letter written
Catholic Stanclar:"Tht:
and two Pali:, Universe Le Anti de Religion,
papers, and afterwards copied into the
plaintiff, who is a Rociaunstly
letter, it was alleged, reflected
most severely and unjustly
upon the character of 'the
placd,
at Catholictii priest ; but at the
Conyers,a last Croydon assizes, it
trial which took
who hadand ethhearAgebboef
turned out that the Abbe
there was no
the original letter, refused to produce
being beyond the jurisdiction of thuepeerooiiru;t,
eiltvetidteern,"buotf
legal authority to compel him to
It was,
tthheerefcoorne,tenptrsopoasnedd tos, u
tphuotr Ini p seocfondtahrecye
the Lord Chief Baron, who tried the case, refused
to receive it. This secondary, evidence failing, it was
next proposed to call the Cardinal himself ; but this also
the Chief Baron refused, upon the recognised rale of