Mr. Stansfeld on Thursday received a deputation from the British
Medical Association, and explained to them his policy with regard to the appointment of officers of health. He felt compelled to work through Boards of Guardians, because they were entrusted with all the other duties of local self-government, and he could not declare them incompetent for this branch of it. It might be true that, their jurisdiction being limited, they could not pay their medical officer adequately, but he had expressly allowed the Boards to combine upon a single officer whose aggregate salary might be quite sufficient. He had heard of one case at least in which it was intended to have one officer for a whole county. As to the charge that he had made the Poor Law Inspectors also Inspectors of Health, he had not yet appointed sanitary inspectors at all, but had extended the powers of his Poor Law Inspectors because he regarded these agents as the negotiators between the Board and the local bodies, and could not multiply them by the addition of men who might take entirely different views. Lastly, as to the theory that local medical officers would be unable to resist the pressure from their patients, it was not fair that the profession should claim the work, yet not have the civil courage to carry it fairly out.
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