§ MR. H. J. WILSON (Yorkshire, W.R., Holmfirth)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board, in view of the fact that the chemical officers of the Inland Revenue are appointed referees in disputed cases of adulteration under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, and that water is specially excluded from the operation of that Act under Clause 3, will he state whether it is in any way the duty of the chemical officers to undertake the analysis of water for sanitary purposes and act as referees in disputed cases, and under what authority the chemical officers of the Inland Revenue recently analysed the water taken from a well at Maidstone known as Prosser's Well, and in their Report expressed the opinion that the water was not liable to contamination.; whether, as a consequence of such Report, the application to the Court to close the well was refused; is he aware that this well is in close proximity to houses in which no less than 14 cases of enteric fever occurred during the recent epidemic; and whether, seeing that the Report was not signed by the chief of the laboratory, the action of 17 these chemical officers was sanctioned by the President of the Local Government Board?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. T. W. RUSSELL,) Tyrone, S.This Question should be addressed to the Secretary to the Treasury.