It was found that confusion had once again crept in and that the numerous groups of Acts which had to be administered by the various local authorities county councils, district councils, parish councils, boards of guardians stood in urgent need of simplifica- tion. The commissioners presented a majority and a minority re- port, both urging reorganization, while the minority (Webb) report also proposed the abolition of the boards of guardians. In 1917 the Maclean Committee presented conclusions, subsequently adopted by the Government, practically embodying the minority report.
Meanwhile in the combat with disease progress has continued. New ground has been broken in the case of tuberculosis, venereal disease, and child welfare. Tuberculosis was brought much into public notice during the Insurance Act campaign in 1911, and though the results from sanatorium treatment have not fulfilled the earlier hopes as to cure of actual sufferers, yet the mortality statistics have been most encouraging. The death-rate per 100,000 from tuberculo- sis (all forms) has diminished from 139-7 m the quinquennium 1910-4 to 125-8 in 1919 and 112-8 in 1920, by far the lowest figure ever recorded in Britain. Though this fall undoubtedly owes something to the effects of the great influenza pandemic of 1918-9 which swept away many cases which would ultimately have swelled the tuber- culosis mortality, there are factors which give hope that here we have a proportion of permanent gain.
Venereal disease was the subject of the report of a Royal Com- mission in 1916 and has since been officially recognized as an infec- tious disease presenting a community as well as a personal aspect. A beginning has consequently been made with clinics and propaganda work throughout the country, treatment being free and the cost shared between local and central authorities (75 % central, 25 % local). Child-welfare grants-in-aid (50% of the total expenditure) increased from 12,000 in 1914-5 to 4,000,000 in 1919-20. Con- currently, though not necessarily because of this expenditure, infant mortality fell from an average of no in the years 1911-5 to the unprecedentedly low levels of 89 per 1,000 in 1919 and 80 per 1,000 in 1920. The general death-rate (all causes) in 1920 was 12-4 per 1,000, being the lowest on record.
Local administration and local loans call for little comment. Local finance, heavily strained by the rise in prices, has also had a large burden to bear in the cost of social reform ; thus in the year 1920 a sum of 5,266,000 was borrowed for the sole purpose of settling ex-service men on the land. Local finance has also shown an un- expected buoyancy in the raising of large sums for the housing programmes by 6 % housing bonds.
Housing, previous to 1918 a very minor province of the Local Government Board, expanded so vastly as to form almost a ministry in itself. House-building, seriously depressed since 1911, had been entirely stopped during the World War. The complete hold-up, during more than five years, of the natural overflow of the popula- tion in emigration much more than balanced war losses. The com- bination of these two factors caused a congestion so great that it was determined at the end of the World War that local authorities should forthwith initiate and carry out large housing schemes, with supervision and financial assistance from the State. These proposals were made law in 1919 [Housing and Town Planning Act, Acquisi- tion of Land Act, Housing (Additional Powers) Act.] These Acts make it obligatory on every local authority to provide for the housing of the working classes within its area, and they guarantee that the exchequer will bear any deficit on a housing scheme over and above the produce of a rate of id. per pound. The Additional Powers Act also provides that a subsidy may be paid to private individuals who have completed a house " suitable for the working classes " to the satisfaction of the ministry before a specified date.
By July 31 1920 10,748 schemes had been submitted by 1,679 local authorities and 149 public utility societies; 5,211 applications had been received for the approval of house plans covering 246,159 houses; tenders had been approved for 135,572 houses and building had commenced on 30,618. Meanwhile a subsidy had been sanc- tioned for 17,593 houses to be erected by private enterprise, and 1,000 more had received the grant on actual completion. A very rough preliminary survey by the local authorities of the number of houses eventually required had given an estimated need of 800,000 houses but this was almost certainly too high. In July 1921 the Cabinet decided that only the 176,000 houses already contracted for could be completed owing to the grave financial position of the country ajid the enormous cost of the scheme.
A review of the administration of the Poor Law and the Old Age Pensions Act shows a great falling-off in the number of adults in receipt of domiciliary relief and a small decrease in the numbers re- ceiving institutional relief after 1910 (when old age pensions were granted). The war period reveals a further striking decrease in all groups in receipt of relief (726,060 in Jan. 1915; 549,672 in July 1919). Old age pensions were raised from the 53. per week originally granted in 1910 to IDS. per week by the Act 011919 which also pro- vides that out-door relief shall no longer disqualify for the receipt of pension. Pensions payable on March 26 1920 numbered 957,915, of whom 620,343 were women. Of these totals about 95 % were in receipt of the maximum pension of los. Unemployed relief, administered by the Local Government Board under the Unemployed Workmen Act of 1905 was transferred to the Ministry of Labour.
The changes in national health insurance in consequence of the amalgamation with the Local Government Board were mainly ad- ministrative. The joint committee was reconstituted and in 1921 consisted of the Minister of Health (chairman), the Secretary for Scotland, the Chief Secretary for Ireland and a fourth member hav- ing special experience of national health insurance in Wales. The Medical Research Committee constituted under the Insurance Act of 1911 was transferred to a committee of the Privy Council under the name of the Medical Research Council. Its funds are now de- rived from a direct parliamentary grant instead of from a levy of id. per head per annum for each insured person.
The first full audit of the approved societies took place in 1920. It was anticipated in 1921 that its final completion would show that the surplus of all the approved societies amounted to 7,000,000. Much of this of course was due to the war modifications of approved societies risks, but the increasing health of the nation must also be taken into account.
The Scottish Board of Health is completely independent of the English ministry though proceeding on similar lines. The board derives directly from the board of supervision for relief of the poor, set up in 1845, to which public health was added by the Act of 1867, transformed in 1874 into the Local Government Board for Scotland and so in 1919 by reorganization with the insurance commission into its present form. A feature differing widely from anything in Eng- land, however, is the Highlands and Islands Medical Service Board. This was set up by Act of Parliament in 1913 and is subsidized direct- ly by the exchequer. It approximates to a State medical service and was only provided on account of a strong report in 1912 (Dewar Committee) showing that while the various health services in these areas were inadequate no amelioration could be expected from local resources which were completely exhausted. (W. E. EL.)
HEALY, TIMOTHY MICHAEL (1855- ), Irish lawyer and politician, was born at Bantry, Cork, May 17 1855. He was educated at the Christian Brothers' school, Fermoy, and in 1884 was called to the Irish bar, becoming a Q.C. in 1899. He entered Parliament in 1880 as Nationalist member for Wexford, and held that seat until 1883, afterwards sitting for Co.Monaghan (1883-5), South Londonderry (1885-6), and North Longford (1887-92). Mr. Healy seconded the vote of confidence in Parnell moved by Justin M'Carthy when the Irish leader was attacked (1890), and was an energetic member of the Nationalist party. He was called to the English bar in 1903, and became a K.C. in 1910. From 1892 to 1910 he sat for North Louth, and in 1910 successfully contested North-East Cork, but lost his seat in 1918. He came forward with Mr. William O'Brien as a strong opponent of the 1909 budget.
He published Loyalty plus Murder (1884);^ Word for Ireland (1886); Stolen Waters (1913) and The Great Fraud of Ulster (1917).
HEARST, WILLIAM RANDOLPH (1863- ), American newspaper proprietor, was born in San Francisco, Cal., April 29 1863. He entered Harvard in 1882 but left after three years without finishing his course. As the only child of George F. Hearst (1820-1891), U.S. senator from California (1886-91), a mining man of great wealth, he had the use of ample capital at the outset of his career. In 1886 he became proprietor of the San Francisco Examiner, the first of a long chain of papers to come under his control. In 1895 he bought the New York Journal and the following year founded the Evening Journal, the morning paper being known after 1902 as the New York American. Other papers founded by him were the Chicago American (1900); The Chicago Examiner (1902); the Los Angeles Examiner (1902); The Boston American (1904), and the Atlanta Georgian (1906). He also purchased the Boston Advertiser (1917); the Chicago Herald (1918), thereafter combined with the Examiner as the Herald and Examiner; the Washington Times (1919); and the Madison Wisconsin Times (1919). He was likewise proprietor of the Cosmopolitan Magazine; Good-Housekeeping Magazine; Harper's Bazaar; Hearst's Magazine; Motor Magazine; and Motor-Boating Magazine. His papers were sensational in form and contents and had an enormous popular circulation. They upheld the cause of the people against the moneyed interests, but the charge was often brought that they appealed to the baser passions. They were America's chief representatives of " yellow journalism " (see 19.569). In 1916 they were barred from circulation in Canada "because of garbled despatches " concerning the World War. After America's entrance into the war they were frequently charged with disloyalty and in many towns attempts were made to suppress them. From 1903 to 1907 Mr. Hearst was representative in Congress from New York, and in 1904 had
