Evening Post.

Evening Post, Volume LX, Issue 116, 13 November 1900, Page 4

Evening Post.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1900. THE NEW DEPARTMENT. » Among the measures placed upon, the Statute-book last session one of the most valuable is the- Public Health Act. Its passage into law formed a fitting climax to the excellent administrative work performed by the Colonial Secretary during the time when New Zealand was threatened with an outbreak of bubonic plague, j Throughout the scare the Hon. Mr. Ward, aided by the expert advice" of Dr. J. M. Masdn, of Otaki, and Mr. Gilruth, the Government Bacteriologist, adopted such prompt precautionary measures as seemed necessary from time to time. He found, however, that the Executive was hampered by want of the requisite machinery and power. It was not only that this want was felt acutely when an extraordinary emergency arose, but also that, even at ordinary times, the local Health Authorities needed systematic supervision. Mr. Ward was not content with simply meeting the emergency, but he determined by means of the Legislature to obtain for the Government such Departmental organisation as would enable it at all times to insist upon proper sanitation and due regard for the public health throughout the colony. In the Public Health Act he has obtained 1 his desire, and if this beneficent statute be judiciously administered New Zealand should soon be able to boast of sanitary conditions unsurpassed in any other country. The provisions of the Act were explained at length in our issue of Tuesday last, and they should be studied carefully by all householders and especially by those who occupy seats on local bodies charged with the care of the public health. The leatiing feature of the measure is the creation of a Department with a Chief Health Officer responsible to the Minister for Public Health. Under $bis chief officer there are to be district officers, inspec- \ tors, and such other officers as the Governor may think fit to appoint. Large powers of inspection, supervision, and control are to be given to the Departmental (officers, who are to advise the local bodies and, iif necessary, step in and have needful sanitary works and reforms properly carried out. The authority and responsibility of the Department will be very great, and it is highly desirable that an officer "of high character, undoubted professional attainments, and ready tact should be placed at its head. The choice of the Government has fallen upon Dr. James Malcolm »Mason, of Otaki, and there is every reason to believe that Dr. Mason will prove the right man to fill the office. His knowledge of. his profession from the practical no - less than the scholarly point of view is well known, and the work he did on the Plague, Commission proves that he is a man of affairs as well as a skilful medical practitioner. While congratulating Dr. Mason on his selection for the post, we can also congratulate the Government upon being so fortunate as to obtain the services of such a capable medical officer. Dr. Mason is still quite a young man, but youth should be to his advantage rather than not in Eis new duties, for he should bring to them an energy that might be lacking in an older man, and he should be less susceptible to the cramping influences of official redtape. He will be called upon virtually to create a new Department, and that one of the most beneficent and useful in the public service. There will, no doubt, be plenty of obstacles to overcome, many prejudices to conciliate, and some vested interests to fight, but a Scotchman's tenacity of purpose should win through, and the end to be reached is one of the highest known to modern civilisation. The guardian of the public health, like the director of national education, is laying the foundations upon which to build a people physically and mentalh strong. We trust that the new Department will perform its functions to the lasting benefit of the colony and for the good -q£ future generations. With its wide authority it will be able not only to check the spread of disease, but to remove slums, insanitary dwellings, and all the other ad- j verse •conditions which directly affect the physical well-being of a nation.