thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

ARTICLE XIII., Sec. 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

ARTICLE XIV., Sec. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Sec. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportions which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Rep. resentative in Congress, or Elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims

shall be held illegal and void.

Sec. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions

of this article.

ARTICLE XV., Sec. 1. The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Sec. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. CONSTITUTIONS, APOSTOLICAL. See APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS.

CONSTITUTIONS OF CLARENDON. See

CLARENDON, CONSTITUTIONs of.

CONSTRUCTION (Lat. constructio, from construere, to construct, from com-, together + strucre, to heap). In geometry, the process of drawing a figure so as to satisfy the conditions of the given problem. Thus, to construct an equilateral triangle of side a: with each end of a as a centre and with a as a radius, describe a circle; connect either intersection with the ends of a.

Here the construction is not unique, since two triangles satisfy the condition. In solving problems a valuable method is to assume the construction and investigate the properties of the Thus, to draw a line through a given figure. point parallel to a given line: assuming the construction and a transversal of the parallels alternate angles are equal; hence, to construct through the given point, it appears that the the figure, draw a line through the point cutting the given line and construct the alternate angle.

Another fruitful method is that of the intersection of loci; e.g. if it is known that a point is on each of two intersecting straight lines, it is uniquely determined at their point of intersection; but if it is on a straight line and a circumference which the line intersects, it may be either of the two points of intersection. mentary geometry are Petersen, Methods and The best works upon the constructions of eleRouché and de Comberousse, Traité de géométrie Theories (Copenhagen and London, 1879); géométrie élémentaire, translated into French by (Paris, 1900); and Alexandroff, Problèmes de Aitoff (Paris, 1899). Consult also Beman and Smith, New Plane and Solid Geometry (Boston, 1899).

CONSUELO, kón-swa'lô. A famous novel by George Sand (1842) and the name of its chief character, a little Spanish girl abandoned in Italy, whose voice attracts the old maestro Porpora. Through him she is presented to Count Zustiniani, and the latter, after her successful début on the stage, falls in love with her, but is repulsed. When her early lover Angoletto forgets her she is sent by Porpora to the home of a German family in Bohemia. Her entrance into this household prepares the way for the sequel,

La Comtesse de Rudolstadt.

CON'SUL (Lat., OL. consol, probably from consulere, to consult; less plausibly from con-, with salire, to leap). The title given to the two chief magistrates established in Rome on violent was the hatred of the monarchy that the expulsion of the kings in B.C. 509.

So

the Romans were unwilling to intrust the the entire administration to two consuls, of new Republic to a single executive, but gave equal rank and jurisdiction, that each might check, if need were, any tyranny on the part of the other. At first the entire power of the King, in State and Church, at Rome and abroad, was vested in the two consuls, and each was wholly responsible for the acts of both; but gradually their powers were limited and many of their functions were given to other officials. They held office for one year only, and years were reckoned by their names. In the early days of

As a

the Republic, one consul was generally commander-in-chief in the field, while the other remained to administer affairs at Rome; but often both were forced to lead the armies in battle. They presided at meetings of the Senate, at elections, and at the chief public festivals. mark of their high office they wore a white toga with a purple band (toga prætexta), sat in public in the curule chair' (sella curulis), and were accompanied by twelve attendants (lictors) bearing the fasces, or axe bound within a bundle of

rods.

The consuls were elected at the Comitia Centuriata (see COMITIA). In the earlier period the date of the election and of the entering upon office was irregular and dependent on circumstances; but if convenient the election took place generally in July, and after B.C. 153 the consulship began regularly on January 1. At first only patricians were eligible to the office, and a consul could not be reëlected. After a long struggle of the plebeians for recognition, it was established by the Leges Licinic Sextia (see LICINIAN ROGATIONS), in B.C. 367, that one of the consuls must be a plebeian. In 342 both consulships were opened to the plebs by a popular vote, and it was ordained that ten years must elapse before a consul could be eligible for reëlection; however, it was not until 215 that two plebeian consuls were elected together, and one of these was quickly ousted. Not until B.C. 162 did the plebeians succeed in obtaining two effective consuls.

With the organization of the Empire by Augustus, the consulship ceased to be of real importance. In the division of functions between the Emperor and the senatorial body the consuls remained the head of the latter; but their nomination became a prerogative of the Emperor, and their election a farce. They still gave their names to the year, and the position was simply one of honor, so that we very often find several consuls named in succession in one year, the eponymous consuls holding office only for four, or even two, months, and then being replaced by others. The original pair were called consules ordinarii, their substitutes consules suffecti. Under the later Empire nothing but the name and honor of the consulship remained. The Emperor Honorius was made consul in the very year of his birth! Official dating by the name of the consuls came to an end in A.D. 537. Consult: Mommsen, Römische Staatsrecht, ii. (Leipzig, 1887-88); Daremberg et Saglio, Diconnaire des antiquités romaines, vol. i. (Paris, 1892); Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, vol. iv. (Stuttgart, 1900).

CONSUL, MERCANTILE. An agent appointed by one nation to reside within the territory of another for the special purpose of promoting commercial intercourse between them. The earliest prototype of this official is the ancient Greek proxenus, whose functions were to represent his country, and to protect its citizens while trading at the place of his residence. Modern Greek applies this term to the consul of to-day. That 'consul' has superseded 'proxenus' as the title of the international agent of commerce is due to the supremacy of Italian commerce in the Middle Ages. During that period Italian traders in a foreign country were accustomed to have their disputes settled by magistrates of their own upon

whom they conferred the proud title of 'Consul.' In 1485 Richard III. appointed the first consul for English merchants (Lorenzo Strozzi, at Pisa), being moved thereto, it is said, "by observing from the practice of other nations the advantage of having a magistrate for settling disputes among merchants trading in another country." This judicial function of the early consul is maintained at present in certain Oriental and African countries. In other lands his primary duties are those of an international commercial agent. The exact nature of his activities and the manner in which he is to perform them are determined mainly by the Government appointing him. The consular service of the United States embraces one consular agent and consul-general (located at Cairo, and enjoying a quasi-diplomatic position), consuls-general, vice-consulsgeneral, deputy consuls, consular agents, consular clerks, and office clerks, numbering, in 1906, about 1100 persons. The fees received by the consular offices, which under the law of 1906 are covered into the Treasury, practically cover the expenses of the service. Under earlier laws all or part of the fees were retained by the consular officials. Thus the total income of the consul at London, whose salary was fixed at $5000, approximated $20,000. The abolition of the fee system was accompanied by an increase in salaries, especially in the Oriental consulates. The number of consulates-general (June, 1906) is 61, of consulates 252, and of consular agencies 387. The incumbents of these offices who receive salaries of $1000 or over are not allowed to transact business in or with the countries to which they are accredited. Formerly a large proportion of the officials in the consular service were foreigners resident in the countries in which the consulates were established. The law of 1906 required that all officials receiving salaries of $1000 and over must be American citizens. This necessitated a considerable increase in salaries in countries in which it has been difficult to get American citizens to serve as consuls, but it is believed that only American citizens will have due regard for the interests of the nation. All consuls are appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. They qualify by taking a prescribed oath of office, and by executing a bond to the United States for the faithful discharge of their duties and for accounting for, paying over, and delivering up all fees, money, goods, effects, books, records, papers, and other property coming to their hands. Upon filing the oath of office and the bond a commission issues, and a request is made by the State Department to the Government within whose jurisdiction the office is situated for an exequatur, upon the receipt of which the consular officer is entitled to perform his functions and enjoy the privileges of his station. The exact extent of these privileges depends upon the conventions or treaties existing between the United States and the countries to which they are accredited. In the absence of any convention, a consul, after receiving his exequatur, while not entitled to the exemptions of a diplomatic agent (see DIPLOMATIC AGENTS; ALIEN), is a recognized officer of a foreign State, under the special protection of international law; he may raise the flag and place the arms of the United States over his gates and doors; and his official papers and archives are exempt from seizure and destruction. While the duties

of consular officers pertain chiefly to commercial transactions, they are not limited to them. These officers "stand as protectors and advisers of their countrymen present in foreign lands; they act as judges, notaries, administrators of interests and of all property of such as have no legal representative; they have to prevent frauds on the revenue; to notice infractions of treaty stipulations relating to trade; to advise their Government of new laws or regulations within their district; to preserve the discipline of the commercial marine; to guard seamen from oppression; to aid the destitute; and to make reports upon matters affecting commercial, industrial, financial, and agricultural pursuits."

Some of the specific duties of consuls included under these general duties are: in connection with their control of the shipping of their country, the arbitration of disputes between master and crew, the relief of destitute seamen, the care of property of their countrymen in case of shipwreck, etc., the issuing of passports, the authentication of documents, and the certification of marriages, births, and deaths. The consuls of the United States are expressly prohibited from performing the marriage ceremony; but the statutes provide that when a marriage is duly solemnized in accordance with the law of the country in which the consul resides, the consul shall, upon proper application, issue a certificate of such solemnization, provided such persons would have been authorized to marry if residing in the District of Columbia, and the consul must. forward a duplicate to the Department of State at Washington. Such a marriage is valid in the District of Columbia and in the Territories of the United States; but how far it is valid in the various States of the Union has not been judicially determined.

Ministers and consuls of the United States in China, Siam, and Madagascar have the judicial powers which are bestowed upon them by Chapter XLVII. of the Revised Statutes, including jurisdiction in minor criminal cases and in civil cases involving sums of $500 or less. The personnel of the consular courts is specially determined, varying with the country and the subject matter under dispute; thus, in capital cases it is provided that the consul must sit with four of his countrymen as his associates, and that their verdict must be approved by the Minister before conviction can be had; and in some countries provision is made for a consular mixed court consisting of natives of the country and of the United States. Consuls have the judicial powers above referred to also in Turkey so far as relates to crimes and offenses of the citizens of the United States, and in civil cases where such powers are permitted by the laws of Turkey or its treaties with civilized nations or by its usages with the Franks or foreign Christian nations; and in Persia, as to suits and disputes between citizens of the United States. Special provisions exist granting special powers to the consuls of the United States in the Barbary States, Muscat, Samoa, and in some other places where treaty has provided for them. In China, Madagascar, Siam, Turkey, and other non-Christian countries the property of deceased persons, both real and personal, is administered under the probate jurisdiction of the consular courts of those countries. (The judicial powers of the United States Consul in Japan were terminated on July 17, 1899, by

the treaty with Japan which took effect upon that date.) Provision is made for an appeal from the consular courts under certain conditions to the Minister, and to the circuit courts of the United States.

In recent years many complaints have arisen as to the character of the American consular service and several bills, having for their object the placing of the service under the merit system, have been introduced in Congress. The latest of these was the Lodge Bill, introduced in 1906. It was amended so as to eliminate the requirement of competitive examinations for entrance to the service; but in the form in which it became law it provided for classification of service on the basis of work performed, with a view to promotion for efficiency from the lower to the higher grades. This plan had already been introduced by executive orders of President Cleveland (1895) and President Roosevelt (1905). It is expected that through the chance of promotion a better class of men will seek consular office. Permanence of tenure is necessary if candidates for the service are to equip themselves with sufficient technical information; and some assurance of such permanence of tenure is held out by the new law. Consult: Warden, On the Origin, Nature, Progress, and Influence of Consular Establishments (Paris, 1813); Tarring, British Consular Jurisdiction in the East (London, 1887); the Consular Regulations of 1896 (United States Public Document, Washington, D. C.); House Report No. 562, Fifty-sixth Congress, First Session; Senate Report No. 1202, Fifty-sixth Congress, First Session.

CONSULATE (Fr. consulat). The form of government in France from 1799 to 1804. After the sudden overthrow of the Directory on the 18th Brumaire (November 9, 1799), the members of the Council of Ancients and the Five Hundred, or rather such of them as approved of that act of violence on the part of Bonaparte, appointed three Consuls-Sieyes, Bonaparte, and Roger Ducos. Sieyes and Ducos were quietly got rid of by pensions and Cambacérès and Lebrun took their places. This approach to a monarchical government was confirmed December 24, 1799, by the Constitution of the Year VIII., by which Bonaparte was made First Consul. The Consuls were elected by the Senate for ten years, and were eligible for reëlection. There was a Conservative Senate (sénat conservateur) of some sixty members appointed for life, a Tribunate of 100 members, and a Legislative Assembly of 300, but their powers were very limited, while those of the First Consul were made almost absolute. He promulgated laws and appointed or dismissed ministers, ambassadors, members of the Council of State, military and naval officers, and all civil and criminal judges, excepting justices of peace and members of the Court of Cassation. Bonaparte at once took up his residence at the Tuileries, and held a splendid Court. In May, 1802, he was reëlected for ten years, and in August of the same year was made First Consul for life. Nothing but the imperial name and insignia were wanting to complete the picture of absolutism, and these were supplied May 18, 1804, when Napoleon was made Emperor. Consult: Hélice. Les constitutions de la France (Paris, 1875-80); Thiers, Histoire du consulat et de l'empire (Paris, 184562); and the various lives of Napoleon, the me

moirs of the time, and general histories. FRANCE; NAPOLEON I.

CONSULATE OF THE SEA. See CONSOLATO DEL MARE.

CONSUMERS' LEAGUE.

An "association

of persons who desire, so far as possible, to do their buying in such a way as to further the welfare of those who make or distribute the things bought." It recognizes that every one is a consumer; that the individual purchaser is indirectly a maker of goods and an employer of labor, and that as an individual he often has no test for goods. In harmony with the new politi cal economy represented by Professor Patten, Professor Marshall, and others, which puts the emphasis upon consumption, the League offers a means of organizing and educating consumers to a knowledge of their responsibilities. The movement started in England in 1890. About the same time the Working Women's Society of New York was investigating the condition of women and cash-girls in the stores of that city. They called a public meeting in May, 1890, to ask the help of consumers in bettering these conditions, and as a result the Consumers' League of New York was formed in January, 1891. Similar leagues have since been organized in eighteen other states, including almost all the important manufacturing states. The work of the leagues has been principally: (1) to try to reform the conditions of workers in retail stores; and (2) to educate buyers, especially women. The leagues, according to the needs of their respective cities, draw up lists of conditions which a store must maintain in order to be called a "fair house." Some or all of the following points are considered: (1) wages (fines, time of payment, or minimum wage); (2) hours (length of working day and compensation for overtime); (3) vacations (week with pay, half-holiday during two summer months, legal holidays); (4) physical conditions (seats, sanitary work, lunch and retiring rooms); (5) humane treatment, appreciation of fidelity and length of service, and the employ ment of children. The stores that fulfill these conditions are placed on the "white list." Members of the League are urged to do their buying at these stores, and to show consideration for employees by courteous treatment and in the choice of purchasing hours.

The promoters of the League soon found that its work must be extended to reach the makers of goods, both to improve their conditions, and to protect the purchaser, who had no way to distinguish between factory-made goods and those made or finished in sweat-shops. Accordingly the National Consumers' League was organized in 1899 with Mrs. Florence Kelley, who had been a successful factory inspector in Illinois, as secretary. In order to identify the factory-made article a 'consumers' label' was adopted, which can be placed on goods made in factories maintaining the following conditions: (1) compliance with State factory law; (2) the manufacture of the goods on the premises; (3) no child under sixteen employed; (4) a ten-hour day; (5) permission given for inspection by a representative of the League. During its first year's work the National League, by means of the visits of its secretary, investigated factories making white goods. A list of fifteen factories was prepared whose conditions were satisfactory and whose owners were willing to use the label. The

BIBLIOGRAPHY. Brooks, The Consumers' League Reports (New York, 1896, et seq.); Lowell, Consumers' League (New York, 1896); Keiley, Some Ethical Gains through Legislation (New York, 1905); American Journal of Sociology, vol. v. (Chicago, 1901); Annals of American Acadmy Bulletin, N. S. No. 5 (Philadelphia, 1898); Reports of National and State leagues. Literature may be obtained at the office of the National Consumers' League, 105 East Twenty-second Street, New York. SWEAT-SHOPS;

See FACTORY INSPECTION; UNION LABEL.

CONSUMPTION (Lat. consumptio, a consuming, from consumere, to consume, from com-, together + sumere, from sub, under + emere, to buy). One of the divisions-with production, exchange, and distribution-into which the subject of political economy is commonly divided. In the greater part of the works upon the subject, consumption follows the divisions above noted, and the subject has generally been treated in a stepmotherly fashion. It seems to have been assumed that the consumption of goods, the goal of all economic effort, sufficiently explains itself. Such treatment as is found deals with a few well-defined aspects. One of these has been the discussion of luxury, and the respective effects upon the economic order of wasteful and careful personal expenditure. In further examination of this subject attention has been called to the objects of personal expenditure. An examination of household budgets, especially those of the laboring classes, has given rise to an extensive and interesting literature. Attention was first directed to this line of investigation by the French economist Le Play and the German statistician Engel (q.v.). Much consideration has also been given under the head of consumption to the effects upon the economic order of the various forms of taxation.

It is obvious that consumption cannot be confined to the consideration of personal expenditure-that it is an integral part of the processes of production; and in this sense consumption has been defined as the 'withdrawal of goods from the market,' and would thus include not only direct consumption of goods for the satisfaction of immediate wants, but also the indirect consumption of goods in the production of other goods. It is this view of the subject which has in later years led to the attempt to correlate the phenomena of consumption more closely with the other economic processes. The stimulus seems to have been given by German economists, who have directed attention to the fact that the ultimate goal of all economic effort is the satis faction of human wants. From this it was a natural step to a closer analysis of the human wants themselves, and this analysis has led up to the newer economic doctrine of which in England Marshall (q.v.), on the Continent of Europe the Austrian writers and in the United States Clark (q.v.) and Patten are the leading exponents. Their view is well stated in Marshall's

Principles of Economics (London, 1890-91), in which consumption or demand is given the first place in the discussion. The analysis of the forces which awaken the demand for goods, thus giving direction to the national production, has given rise to many new views in economics, and has reopened the discussion of fundamental principles. Such a development corresponds to the actual development of modern life in which the rapid strides of physical and mechanical science seem to have thrown for the time being questions of the limitations of human powers by physical conditions into the background. See EXCHANGE; POLITICAL ECONOMY; PRODUCTION.

CONSUMPTION. See TUBERCULOSIS. CONTACT (Lat. contactus, from contingere, to touch, from com-, together+tangere, to touch). In geometry, two lines of which one at least is curved are said to be in contact when they have two or more consecutive points in common. E.g. in analytie geometry a tangent is

said to be in contact with a circle in two consecu

order. If two curves have contact at three con

tive points. This is called contact of the first secutive points, the contact is said to be of the second order, and so on; e.g. the curves y=x3 and y = 3x2-3x+1 have contact of the second order. The analytic condition for contact of the first order at point = a, between two curves, •(x), y2 =¥(x), is that (a)=4(a), (a)'= (a), and being the first derivatives. The

condition for contact of the second order is that p(a)=4(a), p′(a) =¥′ (a),¢′′’(a)=4′′ (a). Contact of the third order requires the derivative of the third order, and so on. In contact of the nth order between two surfaces, there must be (n + 1) consecutive common points.

CONTACT-ACTION, CHEMICAL. See CATALYTIC ACTION; REACTION.

CONTACT DEPOSITS. See ORE DEPOSITS.

CONTAGION (Lat. contagio, contact, from contingere, to touch, from com-, together + tangere, to touch). The communication of a disease from the sick to the healthy, either by direct contact of a part affected with the disease, or by indirect contact through the medium of the excretions and exhalations of the body. Among the contagious diseases are measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, erysipelas, typhus fever, bubonic plague, epidemic influenza (the grippe), diphtheria, and tuberculosis. See BACTERIA; EPIDEMIC; INFECTION.

CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. The law takes cognizance of contagious and infectious diseases as they menace the public health, for the protection of which health and quarantine laws are enacted under the broad authority of the police power of the State. (See POLICE POWER.) For purposes of administration, this power may be delegated to municipal corporations or like political subdivisions.

While the right to take summary measures for the public safety is one of the most ancient of government prescriptions and is rarely challenged, yet it is none the less formidable, involving as it does the power of the State forcibly to confine those suffering from infectious diseases, even where properly cared for by friends or relatives, and other like interference with the personal rights of liberty and property. Maritime quarantine was early practiced by the com

mercial nations, and was enforced by the Vene tians in the fifteenth century; but municipal health regulation is of somewhat later development, and the two are still usually separated in administration. Thus, for instance, the Board of Health of the City of New York exercises jurisdiction within the city proper and upon the waters of the bay to the limits of quarantine, which, with its shipping, is under the authority of the Board of Quarantine Commissioners and the health officer of the port. In the United States the enactment of quarantine laws is held to be among the powers preserved to the States under the Constitution. Under their authority, however, State boards of health are created and. local boards in cities, towns, and villages. In general statutes passed delegating the power to the larger cities this power is usually conferred separately by provision in their charter or act of incorporation. The public health laws of the be consulted for details. Violations of the sanitary several States are similar in character, and may code are usually made misdemeanors, and punished by imprisonment or fines. For the purpose of avoiding any questions that might arise from the possible interference of local regulations of the public health with the Federal prerogative passed acts adopting such State laws and reof regulating interstate commerce, Congress early quiring their observance by Federal officials (act of February 25, 1799; act of April 29, 1878 [20 Stat. L. 37]). In 1879 a National Board of Health was created, but its powers were little more than advisory, and by the act of Congress, February 25, 1893 (27 Stat. L. 449), it was abolished and its powers and duties transferred to the Marine Hospital Service, which, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, performs the functions of national quarantine. Questions pertaining to the people at large arising from immigration and importation belong to tutional right of regulating commerce. Federal jurisdiction as incidental to the consticonditions of entry are imposed, such as detention, inspection, and disinfection, and under the act of 1893 protective restrictions may even be laid upon interstate intercourse where a danger is threatened and State authority is wanting or lax. The Federal quarantine may arrest the entrance of forbidden persons or things; but once past the 'Barge Office' or custom-house, the local authorities take jurisdiction. Naval vessels as well as commercial are bound to observe quarantine rules.

Thus

In Great Britain a similar system of sanitary protection prevails. In England, the controlling statute, the Public Health Act (38 and 39 Vict. c. 55 [1875]), is comprehensive in its provisions and regulations, though it does not extend to Scotland or Ireland, or, except as to special provisions, to the city of London. The Infectious Disease (Notification) Act (52 and 53 Vict. c. 72) and the Infectious Disease (Prevention) Act (53 and 54 Vict. c. 34), as the titles signify, provide respectively for the course to be pursued in notifying the proper authorities in cases of defined contagious illness, and the regulations to be adopted in the way of inspection and disinfection to prevent infection. The first applies to the United Kingdom, and may be adopted by urban and rural authorities of ports and local districts; the second is confined to England.

In its international aspect, the obligation rest