giene and health.

Lastly, it may be mentioned that, at the instance of Lord Dawson of
Penn, a highly qualified and representative committee of medical men,
with Lord Trevethin as chairman, has been appointed in England to report
to the Minister of Health upon "the best medical measures for preventing
venereal disease in the civil community, having regard to administrative
practicability, including cost." The appointment of such a committee was
requested by Lord Dawson chiefly with a view to obtaining an
authoritative pronouncement on the subject of medical preventive
measures, and the committee's report will be awaited with much interest.

SECTION 5.--LEGISLATION IN NEW ZEALAND, PAST AND PRESENT.

(A) _Contagious Diseases Act (repealed)._

The Contagious Diseases Act was passed in 1869, and repealed in 1910.
Briefly, its aim was to secure periodical examinations of prostitutes,
and to detain for treatment those prostitutes found infected with
venereal disease.

There appears to be, in some quarters, an apprehension that hidden
beneath the movement to combat venereal diseases is an implied desire or
intention to reinstate the antiquated and detested provisions of that
Act. The Committee deem it necessary to say that they have not found
grounds for this suspicion; that no legislation can be effective unless
it deals equally and adequately with all men, women, and children
sufferers from venereal diseases of all kinds; that it finds little
evidence of a definite prostitute class in New Zealand, and, even if
there were such, the Contagious Diseases Acts have been proved to be
useless as measures towards the prevention of venereal infections; and
it is the Committee's individual and collective opinion that anything
involving a return to the administrative procedure of the Contagious
Diseases Act should have no part whatever in any new legislation in this
Dominion.

(B.) _Examples of Difficulties--Concrete Cases._

Before proceeding to refer to present and suggested legislation, a few
incidents and cases taken from the evidence may help, as concrete
examples, to indicate the difficulties to be contended with:--

_Case 1._--A man--young and married, a municipal employee in a
city--associated sexually with a female employee in an eating-house
frequented by himself and co-employees. In due time he sought the advice
of the Medical Officer of Health for (what he suspected) severe
syphilis. Steps were taken to obtain hi