CHNICAL EDUCATION.

Midwives.

Under the Midwives Act 1902, every council of a county or county
borough is the local supervising authority over midwives within its
area. The duty of the local supervising authority is to exercise
general supervision over all midwives practising within their area in
accordance with rules laid down in the act; to investigate charges of
malpractices, negligence or misconduct on the part of a midwife, and
if a prima facie case be established, to report it to the Central
Midwives Board; to suspend a midwife from practice if necessary to
prevent the spread of infection; to report to the central board the
name of any midwife convicted of an offence; once a year (in January)
to supply the central board with the names and addresses of all
midwives practising within their area and to keep a roll of the names,
accessible at all reasonable times for public inspection; to report at
once the death of any midwife or change in name and address. The local
supervising authority may delegate their powers to a committee
appointed by them, women being eligible to serve on it. A county
council may delegate its powers under the act to a district council.

Lunatics.

Part of the business transferred from quarter sessions to the council
was that which related to pauper lunatics, but the whole subject of
lunacy was consolidated by an act of the year 1890, which again has
been amended by a later act. The councils of all administrative
counties and county boroughs and the councils of a few specified
quarter sessions boroughs, which before 1890 were independent areas
for purposes of the Lunacy Acts, are local authorities for the
purposes of the Lunacy Acts, and each of them is under an obligation
to provide asylum accommodation for pauper lunatics. This
accommodation may be provided by one council or by a combination of
two or more, and such council or combination may provide one or more
asylums. The county council exercise their powers through a visiting
committee, consisting of not less than seven members, or, in the case
of a combination, of a number of members appointed by each council in
agreed proportions. In the case of a combination the expenses are
defrayed by the several councils in such proportion as they may agree
upon, and the proportion may be fixed with reference to either the
accommodation required by each council o