The Evening Mail. FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 232, 19 January 1877, Page 2

The Evening Mail.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1877.

' •»«*!■■ UiwK.ttiirn -trrr of fas taObut wpoo* ttMMai7Si««t tfealwftka mdw* uoowads

Irk the nerer-failmg custom in all dtie* and town* for the ratepayers to abuse their cfrric or municipal representative*. We do not know if the practice is indulged fa by our townsfolk ; but if so, the portion to doing, if not Englishmen, must claim the Englishman's privilege and growl, reason or no reason. As far as we have seen, no sooner does an occasion crop up which needs prompt attention, an emergency meeting is called to meet the difficulty. At the sitting of the Council, last nighty a question was brought upon the topi*, which, as far as importasm is concerned, should certainly take jiiccodenro of all other*—we allude to the health of the town. The matter was toeught forward by a letter received from Mr. Jon* jjnwar,'complafning of the nuisance* t«whkh he was subjected through » huge unmber of pigs being kept on the wfannMn of hie neighbor. The block upon whien the swine were kept was one whwh had not beenbsuoght within the Prohibitia* bye-law; yet it is somewhat singular that, while H should have been excepted, thewe' wewe others more distant in«Jsjiai> law Council, seeing the necessity fnf ■**anirn ■sasiwiis for the health e£»W eftewavf Jew! lading that Section fI&V *t Health Act, 10?6, n wMsli aaeet the ease, instructions wet* aiiem to Inspector of Kunswcea to take ajsui ajwM iffinlj As Councillor Booth lev/ l«aff*fr Waark* 3 * ** the time the Bye-Jaw wanfaaned, the town Ifjj litt wIIT tltr it has at preJemhJe the distance in«B>affw«aiefcr/settled than those wnto» anawted. Beside the action «• ]»**»» by «*• laepaetcr, it is more 111 niissihTe fief the Bye-tore On—lif

'left iriß take measures so as to include the whole town within the bye-law. While upon thia important question, and bearing | in mind the recent visit we have had from j+Hfi. scourge—scarlet fever l —it is well to seek all the causes with a view to prevention, for it is well known that "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure." In a number of the Pall Mall Gazette, which we happen to have beside u», we find the following:—" Among the many agents for the spread of infectious diseases are our domestic pets. For the propagation of a fever, a dog is sometimes as bad, or worse than a drain ; and a case is referred to in the Sanitary Record in which scarlet fever was carried from one child to another by a favorite retriever. The dog had been reared in the house where scarlatina prevailed, and was subsequently given to a friend of the family. Shortly after, one of the children in the dog's new home was attacked with a malignant scarlatina, and died. Disinfectants were used plentifully, and every care taken to prevent a recurrence of the malady, but in two months* time, a second child took the disease in its worst form, and died." This is a hint worth taking, j for docs it not stand to reason that if the ; clothing of thma in attendnnc-- of the [ patient will absorb, and aft«:rvrat\fe disI senttnate, the potso;?, the woullj coats of I the dog and the cat, especially the latter, are far more likely to do so.