The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-20 00:00:00

M TROPOLIT .1 N. MANAGEMENT ACT.

Yesterday a deputation of district surgeons of St.
Maiylehone and St. Pancras parishes waited on Sir Ben-
jamin Hall, with the object of obtaining from him an ex•
pression of opinion respecting the approaching appoint•
giants of health officers under the new act. The deputa-
tion consisted of Messrs. Joseph, Mushett, Clapp, Head,
Sutherin, Adams, Jeffreys, and Wilbore.
Mr. JOSEPH urged upon the right honourable baronet
that the district surgeons were indispensable to the pro-
per working of the act, and had, moreover, peculiar ad-
vantages in the familiarity with localities, which they
necessarily acquired in the performance of their present
duties He also said that the district surgeons would
feel it derogatory to them and to the profession to which
theybelonued were persons possessing only the same
qualifications as themselves, occupying only the same or
perhaps an inferior position in the profession, to be ap-
pointed to the high office provided for the act, who
would reap all the honour ar.d eirolur , whi!st the
entire of the hard work would devolve up..n the district
medical officer,.

Sir BENJAMIN HALL pointed out that, on receiving a
former deputation, he had said nothing to limit the full
exercise of the powers conferred on the local boards. On
that occasion it was suggested that the officers should be
elected by examination, and he had remarked that in that
case they could not do better than follow the precedent
of the East In is Company's examinations. For himself,
he h+d, in drawing the clan,e on this subject in the act,
had in view the appointment of such men as Mr. Simon
and Dr. Letheby, men of high standing in the profes-
sion, under whom the officers of unions could act with
pleasure. He trusted that the local hoards would per-
form their dales conscientiously, and irrespective of all
personal or party feeling—in which case the cause of
local selfgovtrnment would be viewed in a favourable
light. But if the-e boards did not make the very best
u-e of the powers entrusted to them, that principle
would be brought into great disrepute.
Mr. CLAPP said that Simons and Lethebys were not
to be found for each district ; the parishes, moreover,
would not pay the high salaries such men would require,
and it would be physically impossible for one man to
take a vast district like St Pancras or Marylebone. An
examination they (the deputation) would think beneath
their position. If one man was appointed to the office,
the work of necessity would devolve upon the district
surgeons, and it was entirely out. of the question that
they sh-uld be expected to have all the responsibility
without the honour and emoluments.
Sir B. HALL said thht a rate of one-seventh of a penny
would in Marylehme produce 5101., being 1001. more
than was paid to Dr. Letheby. It was, therefore,
merely a question for the local authorities and the rate-
payers to consider whether they should pay an infi-
nitesimal fraction of a penny in the pound more in order
to secure the services of gentlemen of the position he
had indicated.

Mr. ADAMS remarked that the clause in the act al-
luded to the appointment of one or more medical official
for each district.

Sir B. HALL said he could only state that it was not
for him to enter into what would be done. He was sa-
tisfied with the clause as it stood. That clause or a
similar one also existed in the City Sewers Act of 1848,
and in the Liverpool Sanitary Act of 1845 ; and in the
great borough of Liverpool, with a population of 470,000
persons, one medicsl officer was found quite sufficient to
superintend the district. He believed that the same was
the case in man other of the largest towns in the king-
dom. The great point really was that the authorities
should choose men of eminence, and men with whom,
from their station and reputation, the officers of unions
could feel pleasure in acting.
The deputation, after some further conversation,
thanked Sir B. Hall f Jr. the courteous reception he had
g•ven them, and retired.

AUXILIARY SCREW STEAMERS.

The commencement of the new monthly line of atizt• ‘;
liary screw steamers from Liverpool to Melbourne, pro-' • •
jected by Messrs. Gibbs, Bright, and Co., is to take
place on the 17th of next month. The company baits •
a royal charter of limited liability and a subscribed
capital of more than 200,0001,, and their object
is, instead of relying exclusively on steam power
,in the one ha,d, or sailing speed on the other, to cora-
-I,ine the two in a more efficient manner than has
hitherto been attempted. The originators of this ex-
periment had already tried with what success a full-
puwered steamer could perform the voyage, and had
found the expense and delay of laying down coals at
the diffirent stations such as to forbid the hope of
any permanently satisfactory results, while the ordinary
auxiliary boats, being without a force of steam to com-
pensate for deficient sailing properties, had at the same
time proved inefficient. In the latter case it is con-
tended, owing to the importance given to the steam
machinery notwithstanding its inadequacy, the vessels
were under-rigged, and their masts fixed in wrong
places, and they were accordingly uncertain in
their time, and constantly beaten by clippers ;
while these, in their turn, in consequence of the
calms to be passed through, have also failed in regu
larity. The aim has therefore been to unite the methods
in such a way as not to neutralise the possibi;ity of ex-
cellence, and hence the present ships have been con-
rueted especially for fast sailing, yet with enough steam
p ewer to meet the difficulty of calms. The first of the
line is named the Royal Chatter. Her burden is 3,000
tons, and her spread of canvass 15,000 yards. With
this she has a screw and engines of 200. horse power,
which, although to small to damage her general con-
struction, have proved, it is said, capable of moving her,
when not under sail, at the rate of nine knots an hour,
with a consumption of coal equal to only 20 tons per
day. It is proposed that there should be no stoppages
of any kind on the route, and that the communica-
tion should be confined to Melbourne, the mails being
despatched thence to the other colonies by the ordi-
nary means. In this way the company state they fu3y
expect to lealise an almost uniform passage of 55
days,

ICT.