Notification of corrections, etc., by Record Offices. In the memorandum of 16th April it was intimated that two copies of the absent voters list for the second register should be forwarded to the Record Offices. On receipt of the lists, the Record Office will check the entries in the lists with their card indices and will notify the Registration Officers concerned of any corrections, and of any names which they are unable to identify. The copies of the lists will be retained by the Record Office for use in the event of a general election, when one copy with the latest addresses recorded thereon would be despatched to the Registration Officer. In the case of a bye-election, manuscript lists showing the latest addresses will be forwarded to the Registration Officer as stated on page 3 of the Circular of 7th February, R.P. 83. I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, To the Registration Officer. Secretary. CIRCULAR OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD. Local Government Board, Whitehall, S.W.1, 22nd May, 1919. Sir, The President of the Local Government Board desires me to forward to you a copy of a letter from the Prime Minister expressing on behalf of the Government their appreciation of the work undertaken in this country for the care of the Belgian refugees. Dr. Addison wishes me to add that, although he has not been for long associated with the work, he has been much impressed by what he has heard of the invaluable services which have been rendered by the Belgian refugee Committees throughout the country in this most laudable cause. Now that the repatriation of the Belgian Refugees is drawing to a close, I desire on behalf of His Majesty's Government to express to all who have taken a part in helping these unfortunate victims of the War, our warm appreciation both of the services rendered and of the generous and kindly spirit which has throughout inspired them. When the first refugees from Belgium reached these shores, few could have guessed what their final numbers would be or how long their sojourn here would last. At that time the War Refugees Committee in London and the Local Committees throughout the Country, which so rapidly came into being, took upon themselves the task of organising the great national sentiment of hospitality, and in the result the mass of refugees were received into the country, homes were found for them and their necessities relieved with singular speed and efficiency. Since then many changes have taken place, many problems have had to be solved, and many developments in organisation have been evolved, and the last act in the drama has been the repatriation of the refugees. The Belgian Government have expressed themselves deeply sensible of the hospitality and friendliness which have been shown to their compatriots in their exile, and of the thoughtful care with which the arrangements for their repatriation have been made. It will, I am sure, be a lasting pleasure to all who have been engaged in this great act of humanity, to feel that at a time when so much of the energies of mankind has been devoted to destruction, it has been their privilege to take a part both in alleviating distress and in creating a new bond of fellowship between nations which will continue long after the tragic circumstances that brought it into being have passed into history. D. LLOYD GEORGE. CIRCULAR OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD. RAG FLOCK ACT, 1911. Local Government Board, Whitehall, S.W.1, 26th May, 1919. Sir, I am directed by the President of the Local Government Board to advert to the provisions of the Rag Flock Act, 1911, and to state that complaints have been made to the Board that the Act is not uniformly administered throughout the country, and that while in some sanitary districts the local authority have been active in carrying out the provisions of the Act, in other districts little or nothing has been done. Some local authorities have been in doubt as to what flock is covered by the term "flock manufactured from rags as used in Section 1 (1) of the Act, and the Board think it desirable to draw attention to the case of Cooper v. Swift, (1914) 1 K.B. 253, decided in the High Court of Justice in November, 1913. In that case the flock consisted of jute refuse, such refuse being composed partly of waste fluff from the machines and partly of cuttings from woven jute fabric cut away as waste in the process of manufacture. part of the material had been otherwise used, nor had any part been washed. The magistrate held that such flock was not flock manufactured from rags, and dismissed the summons, but the decision was reversed in the High Court, and the case was remitted to the magistrate to convict. In delivering judgment, Mr. Justice Darling said: Νο It is admitted that these cuttings are rags in the ordinary sense of the word, but it is contended that they are not rags within the meaning of the Act, because, it is said, nothing, however dirty, is a rag within the Act unless it has been cut or torn from a piece of material which has been used as a garment and has become foul through contact with the human body. It is sufficient to say that there is no indication in the Act that the word rag as there used was intended to receive that limited meaning. If that had been the intention one would have expected to find that a word of so wide an application as rag had not been used, or some indication that only particular kinds of rags were intended to be dealt with by the Act. . . .' Mr. Justice Avory said : ... In this case the analysis proved that there was an excess of chlorine, and I cannot find in the Act any justification for saying that an offence is only committed when the pollution has arisen from the one cause suggested. In my opinion an offence is proved to have been committed when it is shown that the flock has been manufactured from rags which are in that state of pollution, however caused, that they do not conform to the standard of cleanliness prescribed by the regulations." Mr. Justice Atkin agreed with the other members of the Court. Another matter which has been the subject of some doubt is whether "remakes" come within the scope of the Act. In regard to this question the Board may refer to the case of Gamble v. Jordan, (1913) 3 K.B. 149, in which it was decided that the words making any article of bedding" in Section 1 (1) of the Act do not include the process of taking flock out of the covering of a mattress and refilling the covering with the same and no other flock. The Board request that the Council will carefully consider the above points, and take steps, if they have not already done so, to secure that the provisions of the Act and of the Board's Regulations thereunder are effectively carried out in their district. It is desirable that the Medical Officer of Health should state in his annual report what steps have been taken to administer the Act. A copy of this circular has been forwarded to the Medical Officer of Health. I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, F. J. WILLIS, The Town Clerk, or The Clerk to the Council. Assistant Secretary. |