The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1881.

Kumara Times, Issue 1543, 7 September 1881, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1881.

The culpable neglect of the Government in not providing suitable regulations for quarantining vessels coming from Sydney will doubtless be followed by the result naturally to be expected under such circumstances. Not long ago, the steamer Wakatipu, direct from Sydney, came alongside of the Wellington wharf, with a full complement of passengers, Who at once walked ashore, and any one of them might, for all the authorities knew or cared, have been the means of disseminating throughout New-Zealand the dread disease which is making such sad havoc in New South Wales. When some members of the House of Representatives asked the Government for information with regard to the Wakatipu, they were told that they should put their questions on the Order Paper. We have this plain and distinct fact before us : that new cases of small-pox are occurring daily in Sydney, and only a few days since, a prisoner in the Police Court in that town was found to be suffering from the disease. The Court was crowded at the time, and scores of people may have been infected there and then. The New Zealand Government are at length tardily taking steps to meet the emergency which has arisen, and have introduced a bill to amend the Public Health Act, and which empowers the Governor to make regulation with regard to a variety of matters not dealt with in the existing Act. One clause of the new bill is somewhat singular in its nature, and can hardly be considered as complimentary to the medical professor, inasmuch as it provides “ that a medical practitioner shall not be tn-

titled to payment in respect inore than three cases of the same disease reported from the same house during the course of one month.” We find that the Governor in Council is to be empowered to-make regulations for the registration of all persons carrying on the trade of daily men or purveyors of milk; for the appointment of inspectors of milk and dairies; for the inspection of cattle in dairies, and for prescribing and regulating the lighting, ventilation, cleansing, drainage and water-supply of dairies, and cowsheds ; for securing the cleanliness of milkstores, and of milk-vessels; for prescribing precautions to be taken for protecting milk against infection or contamination, and for prohibiting the sale of milk in cases where the public health would be likely to be endangered by such sale; and lastly, for authorising Board of Health to make regulations for the above-mentioned purposes, or any of them. The bill will probably be pushed through all its stages as quickly as possible, but unless suitable provision is made for stringent quarantine regulations, the measure will be of little value as regards smallpox. '