THE PUBLIC HEALTH ACT, 1858. 21 & 22 VICT. CAP. 97. AN ACT FOR VESTING IN THE PRIVY COUNCIL CERTAIN THE PUBLIC [2ND AUGUST, 1858.] 20 & 21 Viet. "WHEREAS under an Act of the last session of parliament, c. 3. general health under c. 116, added I. In addition to the powers vested in Her Majesty's most Powers of honourable privy council for the protection of the public board of health, all powers now vested in "the general board of health" 18 & 19 Vict. under the "Diseases Prevention Act, 1855" (a), shall, upon the discontinuance of the said board, be vested in the said privy council, and the provisions of the said Act having reference to the general board of health and the regulations (a) See this statute in the Appendix. Sect. 5 requires the privy council to issue orders for putting in force the provisions of that Act for the prevention of diseases, and the subsequent clauses enabled the general board of health to issue the requisite regulations. But as the privy to those of the privy council. and directions issued by them, except section thirteen, shall be construed as referring to such privy council and the regulations and directions issued by them. II. (b) The privy council may from time to time issue such regulations as they think fit for securing the due qualification of persons to be hereafter contracted with by guardians and overseers of unions and parishes in England for the vaccination of persons resident in such unions and parishes, and for securing the efficient performance of vaccination by the persons already or hereafter to be contracted with as aforesaid. And any money from time to time provided by parliament for or towards defraying the expenses of the "National Vaccine Establishment," or otherwise providing for the supply of vaccine lymph, shall be applied under the directions of the privy council. III. The privy council may from time to time cause to be made such inquiries as they see fit in relation to any matters concerning the public health in any place or places, and to the observance of the regulations and directions issued by them under this Act (c). IV. The powers of appointing and removing a medical officer, vested in the general board of health under the General Board of Health Continuance Act, 1855, shall, upon the discontinuance of that board be vested in the privy council; And the person who at the time of the cesser of the general board of health may be their medical officer shall become the medical officer of the privy council, subject to such power of removal as aforesaid; council are now to issue the regulations, their preliminary order will be superfluous. The local authority is required to carry the regulations into execution, and in districts under 11 & 12 Vict. c. 63, and 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, the local board of health will constitute the local authority. Sect. 13, which is excepted in the text, refers to the authentication of the regulations of the board of health. (b) This section was repealed by the 30 & 31 Vict. c. 84, s. 1, which consolidated the statutes relating to vaccination. (c) Many such inquiries have been made by the direction of the privy council, and have been published in the annual reports of the medical officer of the privy council, and have been laid before parliament. And the privy council may also from time to time employ such other persons as they deem necessary for the purposes of this Act; And there shall be paid to the medical officer such salary not exceeding fifteen hundred pounds per annum, and to such other persons such remuneration and allowances, as the commissioners of Her Majesty's treasury may direct; And such salary, remuneration, and allowances shall be paid out of such monies as shall be provided by parliament. officer to nually as to V. The medical officer shall from time to time report to Medical the privy council in relation to any matters concerning the report anpublic health or such matters as may be referred to him for theexecution that purpose, and shall, in or before the month of March in of this Act. each year, report to the privy council the proceedings had and taken under this Act during the preceding year ending on the thirty-first day of December (d). laid before VI. The annual report made by the medical officer as Reports to be aforesaid shall be laid before both houses of parliament parliament. within fourteen days after the making thereof, if parliament be sitting, and if not, then within fourteen days after the next meeting of parliament, together with all other reports made by him under this Act, during the period to which such annual report relates. making and tion of VII. All powers vested in the privy council by this Act as to the may be exercised by any three or more of the lords and authentica others of the privy council, the vice-president of the com- orders, &c. mittee of the said privy council on education (e) being one of them; And all orders, regulations, directions, and acts of the privy council under this Act shall be sufficiently made and (d) Many valuable reports have been published by the medical officer of the council. (e) He is constituted under the authority of the Act 19 & 20 Vict. c. 116. Proceedings under vacci signified by a written or printed document, signed by one of the clerks of the privy council, or such officer as may be appointed by the privy council in this behalf (d); And all orders, regulations, directions, and acts made or signified by any written or printed document purporting to be so signed shall be deemed to have been duly made, issued, and done by the privy council, and every such document shall be received in evidence in all courts and before all justices and others without proof of the authority or signature of such clerk or other officer, or other proof whatsoever, until it be shown that such document was not duly signed by the authority of the privy council (e). VIII. Proceedings for penalties under the Acts for the time being in for penalties force on the subject of vaccination (ƒ) may be taken on the complaint nation Acts. of any registrar employed for the registration of births, deaths, and marriages, public vaccinator, or officer authorized by the board of guardians or by the overseers respectively, and the cost of such proceedings shall (g) be defrayed out of the common fund of the union, or out of the poor rates of any parish not included in a union. Short title, and continn "The Public Health Act, IX. This Act may be cited as ance of Act. 1858," and shall be in force only until the first day of August One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine (h). (d) See also 22 & 23 Vict. c. 1. (e) This clause is extended to all the proceedings and acts of the lords of Her Majesty's council authorized by the 30 & 31 Vict. c. 84, s. 36. See also the provision contained in the 31 & 32 Vict. c. 37, set out in the note on 11 & 12 Vict. c. 63, sect. 5, ante. (f) The only Act now in force on the subject of vaccination is the 30 & 31 Vict, c. 84, which contains the penalties for breach of its enactments, and provides in s. 33 for the costs of prosecutions, while s. 38 provides for the expenses incurred in certain other proceedings in respect of vaccination. That Act also contains the provisions for penalties for breach of its regulations. (g) The 28 & 29 Vict. c. 79, s. 1, casts all charges incurred by guardians of unions in respect of vaccination fees upon the common fund. In the metropolis such expenses for vaccination as are approved of by the Poor Law Board are to be reimbursed out of the metropolitan common poor fund. (h) This Act was made perpetual by the 22 & 23 Vict. c. 3, except s. 8, which owing to a special opposition which the government thought proper to yield to was excepted. It therefore expired. THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1858. 21 & 22 VICT. CAP. 98. AN ACT TO AMEND THE PUBLIC HEALTH ACT, 1848, AND [2ND AUGUST, 1858.] "WHEREAS it is expedient to amend the Public Health Act, 1848, and to make further provisions for the local government of towns and populous districts in England:" Be it therefore enacted as follows; that is to say, I. This Act may be cited for all purposes as "The Local Short title, Government Act, 1858." tion of terms. II. (i) The word "borough," or "corporate borough," Interpretawhen used in this Act, or in any Act conferring powers of a public nature on the corporate bodies of boroughs by their council (k), shall include all cities, ports, cinque ports, or (i) Similar definitions were given in 11 & 12 Vict. e. 63, s. 2, ante, and in 12 & 13 Vict. c. 94, s. 10, in note thereon. (k) Note the extreme generality of these words, which do not occur in the other interpretations of the word borough. It appears that the most unusual course has been adopted of interpreting a word in other Acts of parliament which is also used in this. Whether the courts will give a universal application to these words, or confine the clause to other statutes in pari materiâ, will be a question for the future. But a limited application is more in accordance with ordinary judicial construction. Mr. Taylor, in his edition of this statute, refers to an Act, 18 & 19 Vict. c. 70, which contained an omission so as to raise a doubt as to its appli |