THE LAWS OF THE LAND.

Evening Post, Volume LXVI, Issue 136, 5 December 1903, Page 5

THE LAWS OF THE LAND.

THE SESSION'S LEGISLATION EXPLAINED. To-day's instalment of our summary of tlio statutes of last session will bo devoted to a measure which immediately affects the people in several important respects. PUBLIC HEALTH. Very wide powers were conferred upon tho Chief Health Ofliwr by the Public Health Act of 1900, which alao created the Health Department. But though that measure dealt wilh the main subject in a comprehensive manner, the experience gained by time and actual working showed that there was room for improvement in material detail*. This explains the existence of tho Amendment Act just passed. One new provision that caused a good deal of debate was a clause making it compulsory for all private hospitals to bo licensed, and to bo deemed public hospitals for the purposes of inspection. According to the Department thero was urgent need for some control of this kind, and tho clause, win passed. The licenses are to bo granted by tho Minuter of Public Health, and tho Governor is empowered to make regulations for the licensing and inspection and for imposing a penalty not exceeding £50 for any breach of the regulations. From one end of the colony to the other complaints have been made against the duty being imposed on local authorities by section 37 of the principal Act of providing and maintaining hospitals for tho reception and .treatment of Infectious oases, and of maintaining hospitals already provided under that section. It has therefore been enacted that this duty shall hereafter devolve on Hospital Boards, and sections 37 to 41 of tho main Act imposing the duty on local authorities shall apply to these Boards and not to local authorities. The cost of providing and "maintaining any such hospital is to be apportioned among such local authorities as the- Chief Health Oflicer directs, in such shares as they agree on, or as, in the absence of an agrcenieut, a Stipendiary Magistrate directs, aftor hearing 1 the District Heatth Officer and the local authorities. Tho ' former provision that two or more local authorities may if they think fife, and must if the Health Officer w> recommends, combine in maintaining a common hospital is repealed. A hospital Board mubt rcceivo into any infectious diseases hospital, when so directed by the District Health Officer, any person suffering from any infectious disease. Where the person is resident in a district whose local authority does not contribute to the cost of the nospitul, tho Board may charge such local authority with the cost of the maintenance of and attendance on such person at a rate of £2 a week, or any additional sum to cover the actual cost, and may recover that amount from the local authority as* a debt. ' If a Hospital Board fails within- a reasonable time to provide, equip, or maintain any hospital that is certified by the Chief Health Officor to be necessary, that officer maY hiiriself cause the work to be done, and the cost -may bo recovered by him from tho Board as a debt due to tho Crown, and failing recovery from the Board, it may in a similar manner' be recovered from tho local authorities. Where- the Hoalth Officer deems_ it expedient he may require' the' Board* in lieu : of erecting a sanatorium for person? suffering from consumption to erect an annexe to any hospital in the district for the reception ami treatment of such persons, though when the estimated cost of stlch erection exceeds £200. the"requisiI tion shall be made only with the previous consent of the Minister. This provision 'in regard to annexes for consumptives is based on the repeated' recommendations of Dr. Mason in that direction. It is understood the idea is to luvve the^e compartments for consumptives attached to hospitals in localities wliero tho climatic conditions have been found to be suitable. The existing power to deal with insanitary buildings being considered inadequate, new provisions have been enacted. Upon the certificate of the District Health Officer that any building or pait of a building is by reason of its insanitary condition dangerous to publio health, the local authority han to give notice to ,tho owner requiring him to pull tho same down within, a timo twined. If the local authority fails to give the notice it may bo given by the District Health Officer. In lieu of requiring the owner to pull down any insanitary building, the local-authority or. the District Health Officer may require tho owner to make such structural alterations or additions as tho District Health Officer directs. If tho owner fails to comply with a requisition, any Stipendiary Magistrate may on the application of tho local authority or District Health Officer, and alter notice to the owner, order Use building or any part to bo pulled down at the expense of the*owner, after hearing evidenco adduced for Or against the application. Whenever any building or porlion thoreof used as a dwelling, workshop, or for any business purpose whatever is condemned as unlit for human occupation, it shall be unlawful for 1 on}' person to remain in ocoupatiqn of the building aftor tho expiration of 21 days, and any and overv person so remaining after that time, shall, on conviction, bo liable to a penalty not exceeding £10 per day for each day such person remains in occupation. Where a budding or any part of it is required to be pulled dotfn under this provision, it shall not bo removed for the purpose of being re-erected as a dwelling-house, shop, or factory, or as a dairy or place whore any article of food for human consumption may bo kept, nor shall any part of tho materials of which such bitffding was composed be used, without th« co~hs6nt of tho District Health Officer, in the construction of any building used for any such purpose. All expenses incurred by or on behalf ! of a local authority in carrying out any of tho provisions of tho main Act may ! be paid out of that authority's general funds, and in order to moot the outlay j tho local authority may, in addition to its other rating powers, make and levy a special rate not oxoeotling one-halfpenny in tho pound on tho capital valtio of the rateable property of tho district or its' equivalent on the 1 unimproved value or annual value, according to th& system ot rating ndopted in the district. 1 This rate may do levied in any one part of a district that has benefited by tho expenditure. Some local authorities have, in lieu' of appointing an inspector of nuisances, contributed towards tho salfry of an in* spoctor appointed under tho principal Act, but as tlfere Was no special provision enaWng that to ba done, tho omission is now rectified and applies as from 1900. All expanses inenrred by or on behalf of the Minister in connection with the disinfection or destruction of any goods in consequenco of tho presence of infectious disease on any ship' shall be borne by tho owners of tho ship, and may ba recovered as a debt diw to the Crown. Every District Health Officer is made, in respect of every hospital established under tho principal Act, an ox officio Inspector under tho Tlc*pilals and Charitable Institutions Act 1835. The Governor is empowered to ma.ko regulations for tho inspection of all hospitals in receipt of Government subsidy, and tho reports of nil such inspection must bo laid before Parliament within twenty-ono days after tho commencement of each revision. Additional power is given local authorities to make bylaws for more- effectually carrying out any of the objects of tue Public "Health Acts, and for, amongst other things, regulating or prohibiting the

erection of buildings not having a frontage to a public or private street, and preventing the overcrowding of land with buildings. Any such bylaw may apply tn part only of a district. Every person who sells or offers or «•■ poses for Kilo any article of food that kt unlit for human consumption is made liable to a penalty not exceeding £25. Where a District Health Officer ordew the destruction of any animal or article offered for sale for human consumption (tho order being made on the ground thaA tho article should be destroyed ih order to prevent disease) ho may take summary proceedings before a Stipendiary Magfatrato against tho person in whose possession or on whose premises tlio animal or article was when seized, and on convic. tion such person shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £20. It is provided by section 30 of thei principal Act that In© work of providing and maintaining a proper place for the effectual disinfection of bedding, clothing,, etc., also of providing and maintaining vohides to convey such articles to that place and to convey persons suffering from infectious diseases to a hospital, Shall bo done by tho local authority to the eatisfaction of the Dwtrict Health Officer, wha is also empowered to cause the work, to be dono at the cost of tho local authority if the latter fails to carry it out. That section is now repealed and replaced by ono providing that where the local authority fails within a reasonable time tb carry out any of the works mentioned to tho satisfaction of the District Health Officer, tha latter slinll report Such failuto to the Minister. Then, if tho estimated cost of the wor^ does not exceed £600, tbe Minister may cause the work to bo done at tho cost of tho local authority; and if the estimated coot exceeds £500, the Governor-iu-Council has the rsuue power of 'direction. Tho trades of scavenging and re-movingi nightsoli are declared to come under the beading of "offensive trades," which irttuA nofc bo established except with the concent in writing of the local authority and the District Health Officer. Any person establishing an offensive trado is liable to a- penalty not exceeding £50, and for car* rymg it on, to a penalty not exceeding £8 for each day ho does so, whether or not he lids been convicted fot establishing ifc. The section of the principal Act (73) providing for immediate action in certain cases for tho suppression of nnii&nce* u> extended to nil cases where tho District Health Ofllce-r is satisfied that immediate action is necessary to prevent the outbreak of infectious disease. Besides some amendments of minor importance, there is also one to Clause 28 of 1900. Under it, a local authority was empowered to pay compensation, not exceeding reasonable- market value, for any] bedding, clothing, or other things destroyed on account of its exposure to hi* fection. Now, howevei, that compensation is subject to section 25, which pMvides that no compensation is payable il the destruction has been rendered necessary by reason of any breach ox neglect of duty, or of iho ordinary rules ol sanitary carefulness or cleanliness on tibm part of tho owner or of any person for whoso acts or defaults the owner is responsible. If the destruction had been rfeddoml neceesdry by reason of any such neglect or breach on the part of the local authority, tbe compensation is to be paid by that body, but otherwise, it Will be payable out of moneys appropriated br Parliament for tho purpose. All disputes relating *to claims for compensation shall Iw determined by a Stipendiary Magistrate alone, whose decision shall be final.