And the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington called attention (1873-4) to-- "The extreme indifference displayed with regard to these diseases (measles, &c.), by many of the lower and middle class is an unmistakable sign of an ignorant belief that they are natural events; and such a belief leads to a carelessness of management much to be condemned. "... The working classes generally visit freely during sickness, allowing their clothes to become saturated with contagious poison." The Vestries and District Boards did do a certain amount of disinfection; but more than three years after the Sanitary Act of 1866 was passed, in twenty-nine districts (out of thirty-eight) no proper disinfecting establishment in accordance with the requirements of the law had been provided (Strand, 1869-70). The Medical Officer of Health for St. James', Westminster, pointed out (1870-1) that in London there was-- "No legal obligation on the part of the head of a family or landlord, or a medical man, to declare the presence of scarlet fever to the sanitary authority. The consequence is, that long before any knowledge of the existence of the disease has been obtained by the Medical Officer of Health the disease has spread far and wide. If it were not so melancholy, one feels inclined to deride the folly and ignorance of a so-called civilised and enlightened nation allowing such a cruel and terrible scourge as this to pass over the country without any attempt to control it." "In sixteen years we have lost 479 persons by scarlet fever in St. James'. Where one person dies, 10-20 get it and get well. It is vain to calculate the pecuniary expense of such a curse, but every one can make something like an approximation to the cost of such a waste of human life, and form an opinion of the vast benefit of legislation that should put a stop to this disease." The Medical Officer of Health for Paddington referred (1876) to the disastrous results of cases of infectious illness not being notified to the sanitary authority, and so enabling precautions being taken to stamp out the infection. "Such a state of matters, with the annual huge mortality consequent thereon, will continue until an educated people, conscious of its duties and jealous of its rights, demands from a tardy executive the intervention of the legislature to prevent it." The Vestries and District Boards were gradually doing a good deal of useful work of the sort which did not much conflict with private interests. The great main drainage works of the Central Authority had enabled them to improve and extend their sewerage and drainage works, and from 1856 up to March, 1872, they had borrowed from the Metropolitan Board of Works £757,000 for this purpose;[130] and the total length of brick and pipe sewer which they constructed in that period was very close upon 700 miles.